Rereading the last chapter I realized I forgot to explain: Kasey's doors have bolts, not keyholes. That's why he couldn't use a key. Eheh. Writing failure on my part. Sorry about that. Guess that's what beta readers are for, huh?

Thank you for your patience. It's been a painfully slow start, but I hope these new chapters will feel faster and more entertaining, since I think I finally know how to do that.


Chapter 7: The Red Bell Part 3

"How long have you been seein' each other?" Kasey glared like a father interrogating his daughter's new boyfriend.

"Ohh, since last Fall." Kale gazed at Sam. "You were wearin' a white dress the first time I saw you, walkin' among the red leaves. I remember thinking, gosh, it ain't often an undeservin' man's blessed seein' such beauty."

"Oh Kale, stop it!" She giggled. "That wasn't the first time we met. We've been goin' to the same bar forever, but we only started really talkin' around then. Isn't that right, Kale?"

He sighed lovingly. "And what heavenly bliss ever since."

Kasey knew this wouldn't work. He'd been on edge, twitching, since Sam's confession, and now his father was acting like a lovestruck idiot. "Dad, I'm gonna borrow Sam for a sec." With barely controlled panic, he dragged the giddy hairdresser to the garden.

The moment the screen door shut, Kasey blurted, "You know what he is, right? A DRUNK! HE'S A DRUNK, SAM! He needs alcohol to think properly, or else he gets these crazy mood swings! One minute he's a romantic goof, the next he'll keep to himself and take off without sayin' a thing! During the drought, he got so angry he almost-" Kasey swallowed; disparaging his father like this was painful, but she had to know. "He almost killed someone, Sam... You can't be his girlfriend. Stickin' with him isn't safe, and you won't be happ-"

She hugged him. The rancher froze.

"I know everything," she whispered, voice shaking. "He told me, Kasey. He told me about you, about your mom, about what almost happened - about what would've happened if you hadn't been there to stop him. He knows you'd try to follow him sometimes, when he's out for too long, and I think he's never introduced me because he knew what you'd say."

She held him at arm's length. "I used to be scared of him. Always at the bar, he was, all quiet-like. Nobody went near him 'cause we were all scared. But one night, on my way home, he saved me from a bunch of thugs. Beat 'em up, he did! He got bruises and cuts, all for my sake. I tried to thank him, but you know what he said, walkin' away? 'I'm an undeservin' man,' he said, 'so don't thank me. Just get yourself home.' And I knew then that he was a good man. A good man, but broken, and confused, and sorry." She shook the farmer. "You gotta give him a chance, Kasey!"

At those words, he recalled the bouts of violence, when his father would rage and hurt Kasey by mistake, the times he'd lock Kasey out of the house in winter, or the time he'd threatened Kasey not to return until he'd gathered enough lumber...

...then there was the time his father had almost killed a fellow farmer, the incident which had made moving to Harpsichord Town necessary.

The rancher gently removed her hands. His voice was low. "Sam, I don't want you seeing each other again." He met her doe-like eyes. "A real relationship... it's not gonna work."

"It already has," Kale said, making the Sam and Kasey jump. "Thank you, honey-whiskers, but I'll take it from here."

X

"I understand why you're uncomfortable with this."

Kasey, feeling bad that his father heard, was staring at his boots as Sam closed the door to give them the privacy of the field. "Do you?" the young rancher said levelly, meeting Kale's eyes; besides a pet name like 'honey-whiskers' there was a whole damn lot to be uncomfortable with. "Do you really understand, Dad? 'Cause if you do, then maybe it ain't my place to keep you guys apart after all. 'Cause if you do understand, you know you're gonna have to pull yourself together and treat her right." He felt anger flaring in his lungs. "You can't just take off anymore. You can't throw a fit and expect her to clean up after you! You'll start working, 'cause now you'll have two to support! Hell, you'll give up boozing! You understand that, right Dad?"

A silence.

Kale struggled to hold his son's gaze. "Son, I'm sorry."

Kasey shook. He scoffed. "You've said that lots of times. Mostly when you were plastered."

"But I'm sober now!" Kale stepped forward. "I've been sober. For five months and fourteen days! And employed. I've been workin' at Maple Cuts since the night Sam and I met."

The statement stilled Kasey.

"I told her myself it wouldn't work out." Kale seemed to be trying to find the right words. "Kasey, she - stuck by me... through everything." He hesitated, as though bracing himself. "She - waded - in the lowest, filthiest, most disgusting place a man can slip, took me by the hand and pulled me out... And boy, was it hella hard. But... I... I was able to do it. Because of her, I was able to do it." His mouth turned up slightly in a ghost of a smile; it had a quality of sad acceptance, like a shard of rusted steel, that was scraped and polished and drenched in acid until some gleaming hint of its old shine returned.

"Wait," Kasey began. He almost got distracted by that smile; it was a glimpse of something old and familiar. "Wait, five months?"

"Yep," Kale said with a hint of pride. "And fourteen days. Still countin'."

"Maple Cuts? "

"Started out sweepin' up hair. Now I man the register."

"W-where've you been staying? Is that why you're barely home? You've been on the wagon, and... and working?" Kasey stared and stepped back. "Why haven't you said anything?"

After a long, seemingly unending pause, and a deep, seemingly unending breath, Kale told his son why.

X

X

X

"It's just darkness gas!" Owen said, waving his arms as though that would boost the persuasiveness of his explanation.

"D-darkness gas?" Molly hiccupped tearfully. She had been apologizing for shining the flashlight on his face because she remembered Finn once telling her artificial lights caused blindness. You never did think about the good ol' days, before flashlights and TV, when people never wore glasses and entertained themselves instead by kicking balls and swinging sticks and stuff. Molly normally dismissed the sprite's comments as his usual superstitious paranoia against human technology. Until now.

Owen had to assure her the only way a flashlight would blind anyone was if it were javelined into Anyone's eye socket.

"Yeah! Darkness gas!" he said. "There're all sorts of gas trapped in rocks here. That's why you gotta be careful when you're mining. I'm blind now, but it's only temporary. Must've sniffed some during that landslide... Gas effects turn up immediately for most people, but I'm a special case. For some reason, gas sickness doesn't turn up on me 'til much later. If we had remedies, this wouldn't be a problem.. at least you didn't get hit. And since you're fine, I'm sure we'll make it out somehow." He grinned reassuringly. Owen chose not to mention how darkness gas usually blacked out just the sides of one's vision, not one's whole vision. But it seemed the gods were especially against them that day.

Molly wiped her eyes. "We should head back then... Phoebe was right. We should've just gone home after we dropped your rucksack." She was tearing up again. Molly did her best to hold it in. "This whole thing... I thought we could just ring the bell and be done with it... but nothing's turning out like I thought it would!"

"We're not going back."

"But we have to! Your eyes-"

"I'd say the same for your sprain." Though his eyes were unfocused, he looked directly at her. "If everything turned out the way we thought it would, life wouldn't be as exciting. Like you said," he swung his hammer on his shoulder readily, "we've come this far. Might as well finish it while we can." He couldn't see her open her mouth to argue, but he knew she was going to, and so he cut her off. "You owe me that much. After all the trouble you've put me through, you'd better do this for me now."

Molly fell silent. She knew what he was doing by saying that. And he knew that she knew.

Satisfied that he had won, Owen went on a little more cheerfully. "Now, you mind lending me an elbow?"

X

X

X

"I know I haven't been... the best dad to you." He struggled to find words. "Since your mother died, it's just been... for a long time I... just couldn't accept it. And it was you who had to deal with me. For ten years, you had to deal with me... and I know, after all my foolishness has put you through, that 'sorry' ain't gonna cut it. So I'll say something you haven't heard."

Kasey found himself shaking. Kale walked forward. He put a hand on Kasey's shoulder.

"Thank you, son. For everything... "

X

Come back. Flower harvest. Need extra help. Mom says she'll pay. Bring choco cake.

-Taylor

P.S. And ice cream! Oh, and Juli says he wants pumpkin pie. -Chloe

Don't be stupid, Chloe. He can't bring ice cream. It'll melt on the way.

Taylor called me stupid :( Taylor, YOU'RE stupid! [Beside this was a large, spiky circle with five wonky lines growing out from under it. Kasey could only assume this was Chloe's drawing of Taylor. The face, or what might account for a face, but looked more like a deformed pumpkin than anything else, was made to look more unfortunate by a series of marks, which could be read as blisters, excessive facial hair, and five types of skin tumors. Beneath Chloe's writing were more lines, written in flamboyant cursive.]

Bring that yellow parka we bought! I just thought of a fabulous outfit you can wear for the festival! See you soon Kasey darling! [Heart] Julius [Signed with a flourish.]

Slumping against the tree, Kasey refolded the note. Through a window in the boughs, he turned to see his father tilling the cabbage patch, as Sam, with a sly glance, suddenly sprinkled water on his head. Kale, laughing, caught her before she could get away, and they twirled, laughing together above the blossomed tulips.

Kasey watched them for a while... namely a good ten minutes, he thought sourly, wondering when they planned to stop frolicking and return to work.

Then, having come to a decision, the young rancher jumped down to start saddling Raizen.

X

X

X

"You said animals were guarding it right? The path to the Goddess Pond, I mean." Owen followed right behind Molly.

"Yes." Molly felt strange having her elbow in someone's constant touch. "But if it's still blocked, I might take the forest path instead."

"I don't think you'll need to do that."

Molly was just about to ask why when a screaming Finn shot to her chest, making her stumble. Owen blindly bumped into her, and since she wasn't stable enough on a walking stick, they fell to the ground, dust clouds billowing everywhere.

"It was just a mole!" Molly yelled at Finn, who was sandwiched between her and Owen going Mmfffpt!

Owen's blank eyes were inches from her own. Of course they would be. It had only happened a kazillion times today! Molly silently cursed, 'Damn ye Gods of Unrealistic, Tasteless Romance!' Somewhere, above their heads, a fanfiction writer snickered.

"Er, um, there was a mole," she explained on Finn's behalf, her eyes irrevocably fixed on his. Inner Molly the Hormonal sighed something Shakespearean about grey eyes; Inner Molly the Practical slapped her. "It popped out of the ceiling... like a diglet... I-I got really scared." Molly blushed. To her amazement, Owen did too.

Mmfffpt! said Finn.

"You scared me, suddenly stoppin' like that!" Owen wore an embarrassed scowl. "It's hard not bein' able to see! I never know what's goin' on."

Mffptfffpt! said Finn more urgently.

"Yes. Hmm. That is troublesome. Good thing it's only temporary," said Molly, nervousness rising. "I'm sorry for scaring you. Maybe we should... um... sit. To catch our breaths."

To Finn's relief, Owen realized their awkward positions, and quickly rolled off with much clearing of throat and apologies.

The wheezing sprite, who looked like the miner's abs, floated up in erratic spirals.

"The pedestal!" Molly suddenly announced happily, forgetting their fall entirely. "Owen, we're here!"

"Already?" the miner said unhappily. He blinked, surprised by his own tone. He'd been eager to end this trip from the beginning. Now he was just confused.

"There are rocks in the way though..." Owen heard her scrabbling ahead. "And a boulder is blocking the entrance. I can see the pedestal from a gap... Do you mind if I use your hammer to clear this up?"

"I'll do it," he said.

"But you're... blind."

He smirked. "Better than crippled."

X

"Here?"

"Um, a little to the left."

"But I can feel it." He kicked the rock in front of him. "It's right here."

She sweatdropped. "Whatever feels right to you," she conceded.

"Okay..." He spread his feet. "Whatever feels right to me." Then he smashed the rock in front of him.

...Unleashing a hissing cloud of yellow gas. It enveloped the miner, who could have dodged or held his breath if he saw. Owen sighed as his eyes fluttered shut.

Gasping, Molly caught him. Or rather, cushioned him, because as the rancher triumphantly hooked both arms beneath his armpits, she fell soundly to the ground in another cloud of dust. The hammer clattered beside them.

X

X

X

"This is our chance to witness history in the making!" Calvin pleaded with all the force of his natural charm.

"PleasePleasePlease Please PleasePlease Please," deep breath, "PleasePleasePleasePlease?" What charm Chloe didn't have she made up for with sheer, juvenile stubbornness.

Phoebe sighed, rubbing her temples. It'd be less painful to humor them now than resist their pleading the rest of the day. "All right."

"YES!" Calvin and Chloe high-fived. Seeing Phoebe's serious face, they quickly composed themselves.

"Thanks, Phoebe." Chloe shuffled her feet. "I'll give you some of Granpa's buckwheat soba, since I know you like those."

"Ahem. Yes, thank you. And I'll..." Calvin thought for a moment. "Let's just say I owe you one."

Ignoring their obvious glee, the inventor eyed them both. "We find Molly and Owen as quickly as possible, understood?"

"Right."

"Gotcha."

It wasn't long before they realized the cavern's mysterious atmosphere was perfect for adventure stories.

"They blew up the bridge," Calvin declared with theatrical grace. "I could still hear the chieftain's daughter screaming for help as they stole into the forest; I looked at the full moon, knowing there wasn't much time left before they cut her heart out for the ritual. But the bridge was out, and I couldn't just swim across. The river frothed with danger! Its poisonous snakes and vicious crocodiles would tear me to pieces!"

"Piranhas?" Chloe asked eagerly. Not even an owl with swollen eyes could beat the size hers had. "Were there piranhas too?"

"Oh yes," Calvin nodded sagely. "And they wanted blood... a lot like your classmates might during recess."

"Woooooah." Her classmates during recess could indeed be very dangerous.

"Luckily, I still had my whip." Calvin swung his muscled arms impressively. "I whipped a tree branch, swung across, and dashed into the forest. Her screams led me to a clearing. At least a hundred men, each armed with a rifle, surrounded her... What did I have? One revolver. One bullet, and..." Calvin made a gun with his fingers and aimed, "...one chance."

"WOOOOOW!" Any bigger, and Chloe's eyeballs would have slipped from their sockets. "AND THEN? AND THEN?"

Calvin smiled, then shrugged. "For now, let that be the end of our story."

"EHHHHHHH?" Chloe scowled; her face couldn't get any uglier. "B-but what about the chieftain's daughter? And the hundred men? And your one chance?"

"If I told you the rest now, I'd run out of stories too soon!" Calvin laughed. "Tell you what though," his voice lowered confidentially, "why don't we strike a deal? I propose a trade."

Phoebe deferred them a curious glance. Calvin put his cowboy hat on Chloe's head. "My stories for yours."

Chloe blinked, tilting the hat up. "Your stories for mine?"

"Yep! If you tell me a story about your town, or about Castanet, or even about the bells, I'll tell you a story about my travels in exchange. A story for a story."

"But that... wouldn't be fair." Chloe pouted, and lowered her head. "I don't have cool stories like you do."

"Sure you do! Let me tell you something, little lady, and this here's the honest truth. That story you told me earlier, about you coming down the mines to ring a red bell that got stuck in your uncle's chimney, is the coolest story I've heard in a long time."

Chloe looked up skeptically. "...Really?"

Calvin nodded, his expression serious. "Really."

"But there wasn't any gunfights, or rit-wuhls, or piranhas!"

"You kidding?" He gestured grandly. "Using an explosion to get the bell unstuck, surviving pitfalls, exploring these very intricate mines - even I didn't get to do stuff like this when I was your age! I bet you've got lots of cool stories to tell!"

Chloe considered it. "I guess... maybe I do!" In thoughtful happiness, Chloe went ahead; at length she began pretending to be Molly, then Phoebe, then Owen, reliving what had happened that morning. The cowboy hat was still on her head.

The fact that he got someone to see their own life the way he saw it from afar, gave Calvin a small sense of contentment.

Phoebe said something.

Calvin blinked back to reality. "Beg your pardon?"

"I said it's clever," Phoebe pointed to Chloe, "what you just did. But if I were doing an archeological paper, I'd schedule an interview. It'd be more straightforward." She chuckled. "You might regret striking a 'story for a story' deal with Chloe. She can be a real chatterbox."

"I've considered the risks." Calvin gave a sheepish laugh. "But I'm not doing a paper at the moment."

Phoebe blinked. "Really?" She stared at him thoughtfully. "Huh. Then you want to learn more about Castanet and the bells. You know, our shop's got some pamphlets and books on it...Though they might not have the kind of information you're looking for, judging by your interest in real people's stories... still, stop by the General Store sometime."

"Thank you." Calvin nodded. "Perhaps I will."

After a while, Phoebe said suddenly, "The deal seems a little unfair."

"Eh?"

"Chloe's going to tell you true stories. I suppose you're going to make up your own adventures..." Phoebe frowned. It was so deep a frown, it could almost be a pout. "It's all right, really. Just seems a little unfair."

"Who says my adventures aren't true?"

Phoebe faltered. "Well, they can't be."

Calvin scratched his head and let out a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, I... get that reaction a lot. That's why I've stopped telling adults about my internship days."

X

X

X

"Owww..." Molly whined after a few deep breaths, raising her left foot as it throbbed anew, nerves singing like fire alarms. "Fiiiinnn, I'm getting tired of this! I've been tripping and slipping and falling all day!" She sniffled. "I know this might sound a little conceited, but this really isn't something I'm used to..."

"Mmm... I've been falling too..." Owen mumbled. Molly looked at his upside-down face; his head was on her lap.

"That's it? Tripping, slipping, falling?" Finn alighted on her head; he had sufficiently re-inflated himself, except for a bump on his brow where Owen's bellybutton might have been. "Try getting swatted, squished, and shocked all day!" He glared at her. "One of which, by the way, was totally uncalled for!"

"It was totally called for," Molly said gloomily, lowering her foot. "You were suggesting things."

"Hmph! Can't blame me, seeing as the two of you are always in each other's arms and all," Finn said dryly. Then he hugged himself, shuddering. "Ugh, my heart can't take another mole fright!"

"Mmmy heart can't take it either..."

"Finally! Someone who agrees!" The sprite nodded. "Popping up in someone's beeline unannounced is quite rude, isn't it? These moles should really learn some manners."

"I wanna... pop... your beeline..."

"Why, thank you for letting me know! Ya see, Molly? Now if everyone had manners like that, we would have fewer things to be shocked of while flying waaaiiiitaminute." He glared at the sleeping form.

"He can hear you, Finn." She stated the obvious in case the sprite might miss it again.

Owen wrinkled his brow. "'Mmmcourse I can hear..."

Wide-eyed, Finn flew closer. "Mr. Blacksmith?"

"Mmmlater, Chloe... bed feels good..." He snuggled deeper into Molly's skirt. Molly gently, but firmly pushed him to the ground. He continued sleeping peacefully, a serene smile on his lips.

"How is it he can hear you, Finn?" She stared at Owen's face. "I hope it's not because of something lame like, in an unconscious state, the effects of external stimuli weaken, therefore allowing the mind to attune itself more readily to the supernatural world, or some silliness like that."

Finn poked Owen's cheek. "Honestly, I don't even know what you just said."

X

Molly single-footedly dragged the snoring miner to a corner, which was so impressive a feat Finn couldn't help applauding. Then, pillowing Owen's head with her belt bag, Molly hopped to where the hammer lay.

"As soon as you see any sign of gas, tell me okay? If I go down like Owen, we'll have to wait another time to bring the bell ba-" She had been experimenting standing on her sprain, and received a painful shock from overbalancing.

The sprite noticed, and said concernedly, "Maybe you should've let him do the cast after all... I've seen human children wrap sandwiches better than that."

"I've never wrapped a sandwich in my life." Molly scowled, leaning weakly on her hammer. "And I've caused enough trouble as it is." She tried another position; it was just as painful as the others. "If I could've made up for it all by doing things by myself, I would've... In the end I've caused even more trouble coming down here..." She spread her legs, like Owen had demonstrated. "I didn't think they'd come with me, Finn. I didn't think Owen would stay after the landslide either. And when I said we should head home after he lost his eyesight, he was the one who insisted that we keep going... People here are different." She raised the hammer. "They really, honestly care." Her left ankle set, Molly grit back the pain and swung...

X

..Then dropped, breathless, on the other side, after crawling through the gap she had made in the boulder. The hammer fell with her, squishing something. Neither she nor Finn noticed.

Laying the hammer by her leg, she sat down with the Red Bell on her lap. She stretched out her sprained ankle, its cast in tatters.

Finn floated before her. He stared at the bruises and cuts, at the dirt on her skin and clothes, which had accumulated since that morning, while she tended the farm, helped retrieve the bell, and explored the mines. "Molly..."

"Just... let me rest..." she said, breathing hard. She smiled. "We'll get it... up and ringing soon."

Seeing her determination, Finn smiled too, and nodded.

When she was ready, Molly heaved herself off the ground using Owen's hammer as support, and leaned against the wall to judge the distance between herself and the ancient pedestal. On any other day, strolling toward it would've been a simple matter. At the moment, all her limbs ached, and her left ankle was already beginning to numb from small movements due to the loose cast.

"Oh!" Finn suddenly exclaimed as he flew through the gap. "Molly, you wait here! Rest a bit more!"

"Where are you going?" she called out.

"Getting your walking stick! That hammer's too heavy to drag with you!" It took him some time to bring the walking stick out. Molly could tell, despite the sprite's serious face, that he was straining his wings to its fullest.

"Thanks, Finn," she said, catching the walking stick, and with it, hobbled toward the pedestal.

The Red Bell glowed.

Molly felt its heat. It rattled on its hook, vibrating faster and faster. She and Finn shared worried glances.

Then, an explosion! The cavern shook.

"I'M FIIIINALLLY BAAAACK!" a voice shouted in triumph, echoing through the very solidness of the cave. Pebbles moved and dust clouded the air as the ground and walls reverberated to its sound.

Molly shielded her eyes against the explosion's white light, noticing the growing heat - a slow, heavy, and warm pressure, making her skin prickle and sweat trickle down her neck.

"First, I must thank you!" The shaking subsided. Molly uncovered her eyes; a red Finn, standing in front of the bell, bowed. "The Harvest Goddess asked you to help, right?"

Molly had to find her voice. "Um... no..." she answered, almost ruefully. "We... haven't met with her yet."

"Oh." The sprite looked shocked. "So you knew about the legend? The story of the Bells? The Harvest Tree's Renewal? Wow! I didn't think anyone knew about the legend anymore!"

"Well, Finn here knew at once that you were... sacred. And we learned about the pedestal from the town blacksmith."

"Finn?"

Finn peeked from behind Molly's head. He flew down and bowed. "Yessir. I felt... a kinship with you the moment I saw your bell."

"AH! YOU!" The Red Bell Sprite shook Finn's hands excitedly. "That's why I thought the Goddess was near! You're the Goddess' messenger, aren't you? She created you from her spirit and sent you to find someone who could see us!" He grinned at Molly; then went on more thoughtfully, "But that means... the situation must be dire. I'm probably not the only one who couldn't ring his bell..." The sprite cleared his throat. "Yes... we Harvest Sprites failed to fulfill our duty... But it's not too late to complete our mission. The Harvest Goddess is also waiting for the Red Bell to ring. So let's get to it!"

X

X

X

"I don't buy it," Phoebe said flatly, crossing her arms. "You couldn't have done that with a single shot. No way."

Calvin sighed. "I don't expect you to believe me."

"And of the hundred men with rifles, none of them hit you?" Phoebe scoffed. "Good for you, but unlikely."

"I suspect they were tired from their journey..." Calvin rolled his shoulders in discomfort. "Not to mention how dark it was."

"You're just trying to make everything sound more impressive!" the inventor accused. "And more dangerous! Like that part with the river! Snakes, crocodiles, and piranhas don't clump together in the same area of water! They'd just eat each other!"

"Like I said, the ritual was making bizarre things happen!"

"Right, right," she said dryly. "In the same way our neglect of the bells is causing the bizarre happenings here, right?"

"Quite possibly, yes!" Calvin retorted.

"Hey!" Chloe called back suspiciously, cowboy hat still on her head, "You're not talkin' about the ending are you?"

Suddenly, the cave rumbled. A rush of hot air briefly blasted them, as though a colossal balloon had been popped at the end of their tunnel.

"What was that?" Phoebe held her flashlight like a sword.

"It's starting." Calvin said, rushing ahead. "Let's find that pedestal! Quickly!"

Bell of Fire!

Ring out your strong and burning melody!

May your tune carry across the entire land!

All three of them stopped as deep, sonorous music rang into their souls.

X

X

X

"You're very reliable, Owen." Molly smiled. Then she grimaced, as though suddenly in pain. She doubled over, clutching her foot. It was bleeding.

"This is your fault," she murmured. "You knew I was a newcomer, so why didn't you watch out for me?" She opened her hands, blood dripped between her fingers.

Why can't you do anything right?

Owen awoke in his bed. He untangled himself from his sheets and rushed out the door.

"MOLLY!" he demanded, bursting into the kitchen. "WHERE'S MOLLY?"

"Calm down." Plates clattered in the sink as Ramsey washed. "She's at home."

"At home!" the apprentice repeated in disdain, and quickly made for the front door. "She should be in the clinic! Her sprain-"

"-Has been treated by Irene. Phoebe and I brought her to the clinic ourselves, while you were out cold."

Owen's hand had frozen over the doorknob.

"She carried you, you know," Ramsey said, putting away the last dish. "Piggybacked you and your hammer all the way back to ground floor. How she managed that with a sore foot I'll never guess. But she did say she found some bodigizer underneath your hammer; gave her an 'energy boost.' We told her a mole might've left it, if she hit one on accident."

"S-she carried me?" Owen felt heat crawling up his cheeks.

"Yep," Ramsey said, wiping his hands. "When she limped out of that cave, all dirty and tattered, and you lying unconscious on her back, it was like seeing a war hero return from the battlefield. The whole district saw."

"The whole district?"

"The whoooole district," Ramsey repeated, settling into a chair. "Now talks are all about the new rancher."

Owen covered his face. "I have to go see her," he finally said.

"She's probably resting now. You can thank her tomorrow."

"I know." Owen pulled on his boots. "But I'm not gonna get any shut-eye till I see her myself." He got up and opened the door to the cool night. "Gramps," the apprentice began quietly, turning to his uncle, "why did you let her go?"

Ramsey frowned, then shrugged. "She was bein' stubborn. Couldn't have stopped her if I tried."

"You know that's not true." Owen gripped the knob harder. "You would've stopped anyone else... Why not her?"

There was silence. The blacksmith appeared to be considering the question carefully. "I felt... it would've been wrong of me to stop her... It would've gone against everything fate and this land had intended."

"...So you're saying," Owen spoke slowly, "fate and this land intended her to go into the mines, injured?" He trusted Ramsey; Owen just wanted to understand. There must be a better explanation. "Why couldn't it wait till her foot healed? You know how dangerous the mines are-"

"Which is why," Ramsey began, ruffled, "I decided to make an exception when you, Chloe, and Phoebe volunteered to go too."

"And if we didn't? Then what?"

"I would've made you."

Owen stared... then slammed the door behind him as he left. He'd figure out what his uncle meant later. Right now, he just wanted to make sure Molly was okay.

X

Molly woke to the sound of singing birds. "Ow," she said hoarsely, as she lifted her head. "Owowowow," she continued to say, as she strained to sit. But the soreness was overwhelming. She flopped back down, submitting to her body's protests. "I think... I'll take a day off today..." Then, wondering where the sprite had gone, since he wasn't on her pillow anymore, she called out, "Finn?"

A clink, a sizzle, and a small yelp erupted in the kitchen area.

"Finn?" Molly repeated with more concern. "What are you doing? I can't turn my head any more so you're gonna have to speak up."

"I was trying..." he said in a constipated voice, which grew louder as he came nearer, "...to make you...coffee..."

Molly felt something placed on her lap. She looked down at the steaming cup on its saucer.

Finn was breathing hard. "Hang on...lemme just catch my breath...before getting the toast." In fairness, the kitchen was at the other end of the house.

"Aww Finn..." Molly slowly pushed herself up against the wall. "This is so sweet of you! Thank you!" She sipped the aromatic liquid.

It took the full power of her viciously-trained self-control not to suddenly spit it out.

"Do you...like it?" Finn rasped.

Very, very reluctantly, Molly swallowed. "I...um..." No, she shouldn't lie, even though he expended great effort to create this ungodly concoction. "W-what did you put in this?" Because whatever it was, it wanted out.

Finn grinned. "I wanted to make you something that would fire you up! Get you ready for the day! Make you heal faster! So I put all sorts of things in there! Like fruits and flowers and mushrooms and fish-"

"Actually, you should keep the recipe secret!" Molly smiled, pushing the cup away.

"You're not going to finish it?"

"I-I certainly feel fired up!" It certainly woke her up. In retrospect, the shock that coffee gave her nerves might've been more intense than the sprain.

"But it'll be good with the toast!" He flew excitedly to the kitchen. "I put all sorts of things on those too! It's got honey and herbs and eggs and rice and- ah! Molly, don't get up! The nurse said you have to rest today!" He waved his arms at her.

There was no way Molly was ingesting anything Finn made anymore. "I'm fine..."

"That's what you said to that blacksmith about your foot!" The sprite pointed accusingly. "And now look at it! You should never have carried him all that way! Why, if he didn't come by to thank you, I would've punched him in the nose for being so coldhearted to your kindne-"

"Owen came by yesterday?"

Finn stopped. "Uh, yes, he did. You were already asleep. He didn't even bother knocking...he did leave something outside, though."

Molly grabbed the crutch beside her bed, and staggered to the door.

On the porch lay an orange whistle. Molly picked it up, along with the folded note underneath.

"Molly," she read out loud. "Seems I owe you a piggyback ride." She smiled. "Thanks for taking me home yesterday...It's really humiliating when I think about it...me, knocking out, and you, carrying me home when it should've been the other way around...But hey! You rang the bell! You did what you set out to do! Congratulations!

Sorry I couldn't be much help then, so I'll try to help out now. Remember that bear? Well, this whistle's what called it. Try it when you're on the mountain path. It's supposed to get animals to like you. Just don't blow it too hard like Chloe did, and don't go doing it as soon as you finish reading this! A sprain's no joke. I'm sure Irene's already told you."

"Get some rest. Don't push yourself. You'll hear from me soon," Finn finished.

"So this is the whistle Chloe blew..." Molly looked it over.

"Now we can go see the Goddess," Finn said, thoughtfully. Then he noticed the calculating look in Molly's eyes. "No! You are not going there today! Back inside, little sapling!" He pushed her in. "Even that blacksmith told you to get some rest!"

"All right! All right already!" She laughed, waving Finn away as she settled into her turnip-patterned sheets and put her sprained ankle back into its elevated holster. "I'll rest...But on one condition."

"What?" Finn asked as he tucked her in.

"Make me coffee again?" she said, smiling.

"Oh. Okay."

"But with my recipe this time."


Guess it's time to change my tone. I WANT REVIEWS! *severe frowny face* :( I WORK REALLY HARD TO MAKE LONG CHAPTERS SO YOU'RE NOT CLIFF-HANGERED (if that's even a word) AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! Even if it's criticism just...please talk to me people! It's my first fic, and I need feedback!

Thank you Momoka Ribbon and HikariKotoneLyrics for your consistent reviewing! You guys are awesome for giving me power :)