Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harvest Moon series, and neither does my co-author, Awesome Rapidash.
AN: I know I'm in the wrong Harvest Moon game, but there will be spoilers for Kai's black heart event in More Friends of Mineral Town.
Christy was sitting in the dining area on the first floor of the Inn. She sighed as she stared at her breakfast, which consisted of a pile of pancakes and a chocolate chip muffin. Her overall mood wasn't very happy, and it had nothing to do with the breakfast sitting before her. She may not be very fond of the food before her and eventually she was going to eat it, just not at that very moment.
What was bothering her was what had happened last night. As well as having seen Drazil again. She had no intention of serving him, but he had made it perfectly clear that he would hurt her, or the people she cared about, if she continued to refuse. She didn't know which felt worse; serving Drazil, or to stand up for what she believed in, and allow Drazil to continue to hurt her and her friends.
She was still picking at the food in front of her when Sora walked into the Inn. He saw the depressed look on the silver haired girl's face, and while he wondered what was bothering her, he decided he didn't need to know this time. Besides, he was sure that there was a way to cheer her up without even knowing what was troubling her.
"Hey, Christy," the farmer said as he sat down beside her. "Do you know what today is?"
The girl looked toward the young man, and a puzzled look crossed her face. "Is it Tuesday?"
Sora laughed a little bit when he heard the girl's answer. "No silly, It's Beach Opening Day! Do you want to go? It will be a lot of fun! We can relax on the beach, have a snow cone, and go swimming."
"A nice day on the beach does sound good," Christy agreed, allowing a small smile to cross her face. "Sure, I'll go."
"That's great! I'll see you there in a few hours, okay?" Sora grinned widely and waved as he walked out the door.
The blue eyed girl sighed happily as she considered Sora's words. She could picture it all clearly, except for the swimming part, since she couldn't swim. She could see other people at the beach as well, even though she still didn't know a lot of the people in the valley. The whole idea just sounded perfect; a way to forget about her troubles.
Still, she didn't have a swimsuit, so maybe she couldn't go swimming. But, she loved the idea of being down at the beach, even if all she did was sit down on the sand. Feeling slightly better, she had no trouble eating her breakfast.
Christy smiled at feeling the summer sun over her as she stood on the white sand. It was warm, but it was also quite soothing. Summer was always her favorite season, even though some days she would complain about it being too hot.
She was grateful that Rock led the way to the beach, because she still didn't know her way around the valley. And, she was glad that they could still be friends too. Thinking back on it, she felt a little silly, because she only assumed that the young man would start hating her.
Since she didn't have a bathing suit, Christy stayed on the beach and watched Sora swimming in the water. Truthfully, she wished she could join in. All she could feel of the cold water was the foam that went around her bare feet. But, she didn't mind that much.
Suddenly, she noticed Sora looking in her direction. The young farmer winked at her, and started to swim toward two people. She recognized both of them, but she only really met one; they were Rock and Lumina.
She couldn't help giggling when she saw the reason why Sora was headed their way. The young man started to splash the two with the cold, ocean water, and soon, the other two started to join in. It looked like they were having a lot of fun.
After a while of splashing, a truce was called, and the three swam back to shore. Rock smiled as he pulled Lumina in front of the silver haired girl. "Christy, this is my friend, Lumina. She lives with her Grandma Romana in this big villa on the other side of the valley."
"It's nice to meet you, Christy," Lumina said warmly as the four young people walked on the beach.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Lumina," Christy remarked. "Rock mentioned you quite a bit yesterday. Oh, I am very sorry about yesterday. It was my fault Rock was late. I mean... I let my temper get the better of me and..." she trailed off, because even just thinking about what she did made her feel guilty.
"Rock told me about what happened," the brown haired girl replied, smiling back at Christy. "He said it was all a misunderstanding. So, don't worry about it."
After a while of talking, Sora suggested that they should get a snow cone. Everyone agreed that was a yummy idea, so they headed toward the snack shack. They had to wait in a line for at least five minutes before they finally got up there. The young man running the shack had tan skin, and he was wearing a purple bandanna, but he seemed depressed about something for some reason.
"Hey Kai, what's up?" Sora questioned, looking at the young man. "Are you okay?"
Kai nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's just... earlier, I was on the phone with my dad and..."
Christy couldn't help titling her head, and she glanced over at the farmer. Sora pulled the silver haired girl closer and whispered in her ear, "Kai doesn't get along well with his parents. He told me this last summer. He really wants to be a chef, but they don't seem to approve of that."
"Oh, I see." The girl looked over at Kai, feeling a little sorry for him. Sure, she had her own squabbles with her parents, but things usually turned out well. As far as she knew, her parents wanted her to be happy, and to follow her dreams, no matter what. It didn't sound fair that Kai had a dream of his own, and his parents didn't want him to be what he wanted to be.
Kai must have overheard what Sora said, because the young man sighed. "Tell me, do you think it's bad for a person not to like their parents?"
Christy shook her head. "I do think it's sad," she admitted, "But, I don't think it's bad."
"Do you really think so?" The tan young man was puzzled to hear Christy's words. "My parents are so terrible so I usually come here, or Mineral Town, to get away from them for a while."
"I can't say I completely understand how you feel, but I hope things get better for you," Christy said softly. "And, I think you should follow your dreams. If you want to be a chef, I think you should go for it."
As the sky darkened overhead, Christy couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. Her day at the beach was exactly what she needed, and she was grateful that Sora suggested it. The young farmer and Kai were walking with her back the Inn. Rock would have gone, but he wanted to spend more time with Lumina.
Kai asked a little bit about Christy's family on the way. The silver haired girl didn't mind talking about them, but both boys noticed how sad she was as she did. They couldn't understand why, so they asked her about it. All she was willing to tell them was that she was very far away from her home, and even though she missed them horribly, she felt like she would probably never return to them.
Sora was about to ask Christy further, but he stopped when something caught his attention. "Did you hear that? It sounded like it came from in front of us!"
Kai nodded in agreement. "I heard it too."
Christy shook her head as she took a few steps forward, away from the two boys without thinking. She knew who it was, but she didn't want it to be. Couldn't he just leave her alone?
Her hopes were dashed when Drazil stepped out from behind a large tree. "Well, it seems we meet again, my little servant."
Sora and Kai eyed each other, repeating the man's last two words. They couldn't believe what Drazil just called her!
Christy turned her back on Drazil, and attempted to walk back to the two young men. "I told you last night that I am not your servant! I'm not getting that book for you! I refuse to do it!"
"Do not irritate me with your insolence!" Drazil warned, taking one step toward the young girl. "You shall retrieve that book!"
Christy shook her head, trying to control the fear she felt in her heart. "No! I... I'm not doing it!"
A gasp of pain escaped Christy's lips when she felt her right arm being grabbed and pulled behind her in a rough manner. "I told you not to disobey me! Now are you going to be a good little servant, or shall I break your arm?" Drazil threatened, tightening his hold on the girl's arm.
"Let go of her!" Kai yelled, looking like he was ready to attack the man.
The young farmer standing beside Kai had a similar look on his face. "You're hurting her!" he cried, noticing the look of pain on the silver haired girl's face.
"Of course I am!" Drazil agreed, keeping a firm grip on the girl's arm. "I'll break her spirit if I must, and she will serve me! If you fools value your lives, you shouldn't interfere!"
"You will never break my spirit, Drazil!" Christy tried to sound determined as she spoke, but she was having difficulty. "I won't serve you!"
Drazil twisted the girl's wrist along with her arm further up her back, causing her to cry out in agony, and tears began to flow out of her eyes. "You will serve me, or else!"
Sora growled, and charged toward Drazil. "Leave her alone!" After a few seconds, Kai also ran toward the man. He may not have known Christy very long, but he couldn't just leave the poor girl in his clutches like that!
Drazil saw the two coming in his direction, and he was able to deflect their attacks without any trouble, sending the two sprawling to the dirt of the path.
"Sora! Kai!" Christy shouted in alarm.
"Those fools are the very least of your concerns, my little servant," Drazil remarked. "No, instead, you should be worrying more about yourself!"
The two young men slowly pushed themselves to their feet, looking toward Christy and Drazil. "Let go of her already!" Sora yelled angrily. "Leave her alone!"
Drazil ignored the farmer's comment, keeping his attention on the young girl. "So, what is your choice? Will you serve me faithfully, or must I convince you further?"
"Don't ignore us!" Kai shouted. "You heard Sora! Leave her alone! She doesn't have to serve you!"
"Fool! She is destined to do this!" Drazil looked toward Kai as he spoke. "The legend says so!"
"L... legend?" Christy gasped in both surprise and pain. "W... wait a second! What legend?"
"At the moment, that is of little importance to you," the man said, tightening his hold on the girl's arm. "Now, make your choice. Are you going to serve me faithfully?"
The silver haired girl fell silent for a moment. She could tell that Sora and Kai were about rush in and attack Drazil again, but she didn't want them to get hurt! And the pain that went through her arm was becoming unbearable.
"C... can't I have a little more time? I'll tell you tomorrow night."
"I will give you until this time tomorrow," Drazil replied. "However, I expect you to have the book with you then. Fail and you will experience more pain than you've ever imagined!"
To accentuate his point the wizard flung Christy to her knees. He laughed as he looked down at Christy's tear stained face. "Yes, that's where you belong, on your knees my little servant!" Drazil then looked back at Sora and Kai. "You had best forget about this girl. She belongs to me!"
As the man began to walk away he glanced back at Christy, who was still on her knees. "Remember to have the book when we meet tomorrow. I do not care where we meet, just have that book!" With those words, Drazil disappeared into the darkness.
"Are you okay, Christy?" Sora asked as he and Kai rushed up to the silver haired girl.
Christy nodded slowly, rubbing her sore arm. "Yeah, I'm okay. What about you two?"
"We're fine," Kai remarked, trying to wave off Christy's concern. "Who was that man? And why did he call you his little servant?"
"I don't completely understand either," the blue eyed girl confessed. "But his name is Drazil. He wants me to find some things for him, and he's been trying to get him to serve him for the past couple of days. I keep refusing, but he keeps saying I have no choice but to serve him. It all began that night, when I thought I saw him at the bar."
At that point, she started to explain about what happened that night, and what happened the last two nights as well. Sora and Kai listened to everything she said. It felt good to be able to talk about it. As they started to walk off toward the Inn again, Christy was startled by Sora's next suggestion.
Christy laid down on her bed, not feeling completely sure of herself. Since it was a book she was looking for, Sora suggested she should go to the library in Mineral Town. He kept saying that Mary would probably understand if she had to take one of the books. However, Christy didn't know if she could get the item. Sora figured it would be a good idea, because she could get the book and then protect it from Drazil.
But, she was also worried about what would happen tomorrow night. Sora got this bright idea about setting a trap, since they were no match for Drazil physically, so they were going to try and outsmart him. She wasn't completely sure if it was a good idea. All she could do was wait and see what would happen.
