(A/n) It took a few days but finally found my target -=laughs evily=- so now this story will focus on romantic interest. Yay! Here is the next chapter anyway for those of you still interested. XD


The Reason Why…

"Hey Annie!"

The axe came down with a loud swish, the blade promptly getting stuck in the stump I had been trying to hack to pieces. I stared at the axe and then at the stump that refused to break apart, great… I released the handle and wiped the sweat from my brow, glancing over my shoulder to find the petite form of Mary climbing the path toward the waterfall.

"Mary?" I moved over to greet her as she climbed the rest of the path, a sweet smile playing on her face. What in the world was Mary doing all the way out here? "Is everything all right?" I asked; it was well after four pm so I knew that the library was closed. She always went straight home after work though so you can imagine my surprise at finding her out here in the forest this late in the evening.

Mary paused for a breath as she placed a hand over her chest and nodded. "Yes, everything's fine." She smiled at me and shook her head, her large glasses sliding down her nose. "I can't believe how hard it is just to find you; I've been looking all over town for you. I finally found Claire and she said you were out here chopping wood." She blinked and glanced over at the sight of the axe now stuck in the stump.

"That's an evil stump." I said as I folded my arms beneath my breasts, a light frown twitching on my face. Mary glanced back at me and she giggled, her dark hair brushing lightly over the rims of her glasses. "I can see that…" She smiled and shook her head. "Anyway Annie, I wanted to ask you something and I'm sorry if it seems a little last minute."

"Well it must be important if you're coming all the way out here to ask me." I smiled as I studied her; she seemed in a really good mood today. I wonder, did something happen?

"I was wondering if you would like to come with me to Forget-Me-Not Valley tomorrow." Her smile grew as she watched my reaction; the hopeful look in her dark eyes was surprising. "I figured you would want to come, seeing as you've never been there before."

"You want me to go with you?" I stared at her and then blinked a few times, that question wasn't what I had been expecting. I had never been to the Valley before because I was always too busy with work; I hardly had time to do anything else. I reached up to scratch my head, my bewildered expression causing her to giggle.

"Don't look so surprised." She pushed her glasses back up on her nose, her smile growing a little more. "Actually I've been meaning to ask you earlier but you were always so busy I never had the chance to. My friend Lumina had wanted to meet you since I had told her about you."

"Your friend wants to meet me?" I felt the faint heat rise into my cheeks, my gaze focusing on her dark eyes. "Well, talk about pressure…"

Mary laughed again as she started to kick the snow around on the ground. "I'd understand if you can't, it is last minute, but you're my friend and I wanted you to come. I thought it would be a nice break away from Mineral Town."

I dropped my hand to my side as I smiled, she considered me a friend? That had to be one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me. I gave a nod in reply, my smile growing warm as I watched her. "You know, it would be nice to take a break." She glanced up at me and I laughed a little. "Sure why not. I'd love to come but I'll have to run it by Claire and make sure she's all right with me taking the day off."

Mary's smile was bright as she ran over and threw her arms around me in a tight hug. "Oh really?! This is so exciting!" I laughed as I patted her back and she pulled away, her dark eyes sparkling. "As soon as you talk to Claire, come by my house and let me know what she said. I want to leave early tomorrow morning so we can get a good head start on the day."

"All right I'll swing by in an hour. I have to finish up here and then I'll go talk to Claire."

"Great! See you later!" She waved to me as she turned around and ran down the path, her long dark braid flying behind her. I watched her as she disappeared passed the trees before I chuckled and shook my head. She was so different than how I expected her to be. Well, it was as they said: it usually was the quiet ones. I sighed as I rubbed my gloved hands together and glanced down at the evil stump that kept my axe so firmly imbedded.

"Now for you my dear stump…" I walked back over to it and pulled the axe out with a good yank. I raised the axe and counted the seconds before heaving it down. The blade whooshed through the air and hit the stump square on, splitting it right down the middle. "Hah!" I smiled as I took in a breath. "I have yet to be defeated by the likes of you." I declared as I set the axe aside and gathered the pieces of lumber. It was strange how much my life had changed the day I fell into the river… I supposed it must have been a good thing that that blond woman pushed me in when she did. Though it still bothered me as to why she did so in the first place…

--

Monday brought with it a very early morning as well as a very excited librarian who chatted the entire way to the Valley. Claire had been perfectly fine with me taking a day off, seeing as I had been shipping a lot of ores and stones from the lake mine. She said it wouldn't hurt to take the whole day off. I couldn't help but wonder if Claire ever took a day off but she seemed content to running around the town doing everything and then some. I would have to remind myself to take her out for a girls' night out one of these days, she would work herself to the bone if she wasn't careful.

"We're almost there." Mary smiled as me as we followed the road through the hills toward Forget-Me-Not Valley. Her smile fell a bit as she studied the tired look on my face. "Annie, are you feeling all right?"

"Hmm? Oh yes…" I smiled over at her and gave a nod. "I just forgot to have a cup of coffee this morning so I'm not running on the usual pip of caffeine." I slipped my hands into the pockets of my coat while a large yawn emerged.

"Oh my…" Mary giggled as she looked ahead, we were coming in a curve in the road and as we followed it, Forget-Me-Not Valley came into view. I paused in mid-step at the sight of the Valley, my mouth dropping open at the scene before us. Mary stopped beside me as she studied my face with a bright smile and then glanced at the hills that surrounded the large farms and small village. "It's a beautiful place isn't it?" Mary asked as she took my arm and started to pull me further down the road.

"It's gorgeous…" I sighed with a smile as I followed behind her. Forget-Me-Not Valley was nothing but rolling hills and beautiful fields and even a small forest, the river that cut through the middle of the valley sparkled under the morning sun. This place was so much more incredible in real life than in the game; there was no way to really describe it unless you were there to see it yourself, very much like on Mother's Hill. "No wonder you come here every Monday." I smiled a little more as we followed the road that led to the village.

We passed the large fields of a farm, the ground completely covered by snow from the recent blizzard that had blown through. There were a few people walking back and forth between the rows of fields and one of them, a young woman wearing a deep green dress with a brown bandana over her dark hair, looked up at us as we passed. Her smile was large as she raised a hand and waved to us. "Hi Mary!"

"Oh, good morning Celia!" Mary smiled as she waved to the young woman named Celia.

"Oh, who is that with you?" Celia was still smiling as she walked over to the fence, her brown eyes watching me with curiosity. Mary giggled as she looked at me and beckoned me to follow as she walked over to the fence to meet with the young farmer. "Celia, this is my friend Annie. She just moved to Mineral Town." She looked at Celia and gave a nod. "She works with the farmer in town, isn't that neat?"

Celia's brown eyes brightened as she looked at Mary and gave a nod. "That is neat! I didn't know that Claire had hired new help." She looked at me and laughed. "It's so nice to meet you Annie, how do you like working on a farm?"

"It's hard work but worth it. I haven't learned how to farm crops yet but Claire is going to be showing me once spring comes."

"That's great, if you need any pointers feel free to come by and ask my Auntie Vesta." Celia turned around then and waved over to a surprisingly large woman who was walking through the rows toward us. She was wearing an apron over her clothes and her dirty blond hair that was kept in a ponytail at the base of her neck. "Auntie!"

"Well, well, what do we have here? A new face in the Valley?" Vesta smiled at me and gave a nod in greeting to the librarian. "Hello Mary, who is your friend?"

"Auntie, this is Annie, she works on the farm in Mineral Town." Celia offered since I was too dumbstruck by the height and size of this woman to answer. You always had the feeling Vesta was a large figure in the game, meeting her face to face really put it into perspective and I couldn't help but wonder if one of her parents was a giant. She was incredible, that's the best way I could describe her at the moment. When she reached out to snag my hand and give it a shake, it was too late to do anything but be jostled around. "Well isn't that something? Welcome to Forget-Me-Not Valley!"

I tried to shake her hand in turn before she finally let go and I flexed my fingers to get the circulation going again. "Thank you…" I smiled when Celia started to laugh at the fact that her aunt's iron grip had done some damage.

"What's going on?" A voice had reached us and we all looked to find the last member of Vesta's little family to join us. Vesta smiled as she reached out to clap her brother on the shoulder and motioned over to me. "We're just welcoming a new face to the Valley. Marlin, you remember Mary right?"

Marlin barely gave a nod to my friend as his turquoise eyes glanced over at Mary and then settled on me. He was just as surly looking as I expected him to be as he stood there with his hands in his pockets. His thick, wavy dark hair was swept back from his face and his frown deepened as he caught me watching him. Vesta nodded at me as her smile grew even larger than before. "This is her friend Annie. She's working for the farm there in Mineral Town. Isn't that great? There is nothing better than healthy competition."

I stared at the woman for a heartbeat before I glanced at Marlin and blinked. Was she for real? She was even more upbeat about life than her videogame counterpart. Marlin caught the puzzled look on my face and his frown eased a little. Apparently he understood exactly what I was thinking and before I knew it, a spark of amusement appeared in his eyes. I glanced at Mary and she smiled at me and gave a nod, it was all right for us to go. "Um… it was nice meeting all of you. " I smiled at Vesta and her family as I raised a hand in farewell. "But we have to get going, I've been dying for a cup of coffee since we left Mineral Town and I'm not much of a people person when I'm half awake."

Vesta laughed heartily at this while Celia smiled and waved goodbye to us. Marlin simply stood there and stared at us while I took Mary by the arm and pulled her toward the bridge. Mary was laughing as we crossed the river and walked into the small town. "Talk about awkward, I had no idea people could be so happy like that." I frowned at her as she continued to laugh, her hand covering her mouth from view. "That is not funny Mary, you forget I'm from the city, I'm used to people being a little more depressed than that."

"Oh Annie, Vesta is just a very happy woman. She lives a good life; can you fault her for always looking at the bright side?"

"I suppose not… but still, she seems even happier than Claire and that is saying something."

Mary laughed as she led the way through the town toward a series of stone steps that led up to the top of a small hill. "Well, that is the way life is here. Everyone in the Valley is happy and healthy, even more so than in Mineral Town. You understand now why I wanted you to come with me? This place is so much more relaxed than the town and it's the perfect place to escape to when the library is closed."

"Work is good too…" I muttered as I followed her through a large gateway and into an even larger courtyard that bore a fabulous fountain as its center piece. I gaped at the mansion that rested before us, it was so huge! I had no idea that the mansion would be this extravagant in real life. It was amazing and I said as much as we walked to the front door and Mary rang the bell. An elderly gentleman answered the door and he smiled at the sight of Mary as he gave a deep bow in greeting. "Lady Mary, how wonderful to see you again, please come in."

"Good Morning Sebastian." Mary said as she entered the mansion while I trailed behind her, keeping my mouth firmly closed as I took in the sight of the main room of the mansion. Mary pulled off her coat as she glanced over at me and motioned her head in my direction. "This is my friend Annie. I hope you don't mind an extra guest."

Sebastian smiled at me as he took our coats and bowed toward me. "Not at all. Lady Annie, welcome to our humble home."

I was beginning to feel a little awkward standing in this large place and wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and a green sweater. I tried to smile as I thanked him for the warm greeting. The sound of footsteps rushing down the main staircase toward us caught our ears and we all turned to find a pretty young woman with shoulder length, light brown hair coming down the stairs to greet us. Her smile was welcoming as she rushed over to Mary and swept her into a hug. "Mary! I'm so glad you're here! Monday never comes fast enough!"

They both started to giggle as they hugged and Mary pulled away to turn toward me. "Lumina, this is Annie. She was able to get a day off to come and visit the Valley with me."

"This is Annie!" Lumina turned her pretty brown eyes my way and reached out to take my hand. "Mary's told me so much about you! I feel like I know you already!"

I laughed as I shook her hand in greeting and gave a nod in turn. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lumina. Thank you so much for the wonderful welcome."

"I've wanted to meet you since Mary started talking about you. Is it true you that you were rescued from a river?

"Oh… yes." I could feel the heat rise into my cheeks as my smile grew a little more embarrassed. "I'm not a very graceful woman…"

Lumina laughed and glanced over at her butler with a kind smile. "Sebastian, thank you so much for greeting my guests. I will show them to the parlor, is it all right if we could have some coffee brought to us?"

"Of course my lady." Sebastian bowed toward Lumina, his manner nothing but professional. "It will be my pleasure." He smiled before he turned and left the parlor. I watched him as he left before a felt a hand pull on my arm and I glanced over to find Mary smiling at me. "Annie, let's go."

"Oh, sorry." I smiled at her and glanced over at Lumina. "Please, lead the way."

Lumina giggled as she turned on her heel and started to chat a mile a minute, leading us further into the mansion. She started asking questions as to where I was from and what I did and so forth. I answered those questions as best as I could without giving too many details, after all I had no good way to explain my origins. Thankfully, Lumina was too excited about us being here to question further but I caught Mary watching me with a thoughtful look as we sat down in the parlor. Oh boy… I hope she wasn't getting curious now…

--

The remainder of the morning was spent listening to Mary and Lumina speak of anything and everything that came to mind. I merely sat and listened to their conversation, adding my input whenever they directed a question my way. The afternoon had arrived and I decided that I wanted to take a little walk around the town to take in the scenery. Mary and Lumina wanted to continue talking so they remained at the mansion. I left the large house and moved toward the fountain, the water still spilling even in this frigid weather. I stared at the rippling surface of the water, watching as it distorted the images of a few coins that had been dropped into its depths. I don't know how long I was staring at the water but I started to hear a funny noise coming from somewhere beside the mansion. "What in the world is that?"

I moved away from the fountain and followed the strange noise until I caught sight of a large garden shed tucked away in a corner of the grounds. It looked like no one had been to this part of the yard for sometime. I walked toward the shed, the noise growing louder with each step, it sounded like a funny sort of chant. I stopped outside of the door of the shed and leaned in close to listen to the chanting. It was in some random language I couldn't even begin to identify, so my curiosity getting the best of me, I entered the shed.

I found myself in a large room that had been converted into some kind of study/living area. A large cauldron was bubbling in the middle of the room with who-knows-what inside. Books and papers littered every corner of the room and bookshelves lined the wall opposite of where I stood. I was surprised to find that someone was living in a abandoned garden shed but was even more surprising was who lived here. A woman with long, wavy blond hair, covered by a black cloak, was pacing back and forth and chanting in the funny language I had been hearing. She paused in mid-step as she placed a hand on her chin and shook her head. "Ahh… Why does that Harvest Goddess complain about everything I do?"

She started to pace again, the frown on her face growing deep. "I mean sure, every now and then I bully the Harvest Sprites, break up a few sweethearts, destroy crops, make animals sick and yet she gets so mad about it!" She stopped and flipped back her hair, her eyes, which were a piercing shade of ruby, almost burned with anger as she gritted her teeth. "I'm just having a little fun! Does she think she's such a 'good' girl or something? It just makes me so mad! I can have as much of an influence over people as she can!"

She continued to mutter to herself until she realized that she wasn't alone. Her ruby eyes glanced by way and an awkward moment passed before it hit me that I had seen her before. My temper flared as I took a step forward and clenched my fists. "You! You're the one who pushed me into that river!"

The woman blinked in surprise and stared at me before a flicker of recognition swept across her face. "Oh, it's you! I was wondering what happened to you, I thought you had gotten lost somewhere."

"Why did you push me into that river?! Were you trying to kill me!?" I yelled as I took another step closer. This was insane! She pushed me into a freezing river and all she could say she is "I wondered what happened to you."

The woman laughed as she shook her head, her blond hair spilling over her shoulders. "No I wasn't trying to kill you… but you seemed to have made it to this world all the same." She flipped back her hair as her eyes looked me over. "I guess you've had no trouble finding help here either. Let me ask you something, did the Harvest Goddess help you?"

"Harvest Goddess?" I felt my temper ebb away at the strange question. "I… no, I don't even know who the Harvest Goddess is!"

The woman laughed then, the same strange laugh I recognized from that day by the river. She shook her head and held up a finger, waving it back and forth. "Don't play dumb with me, you and I both know exactly who the Goddess is but since you haven't met her yet…" She trailed off as a smile played on her face. She moved over to me and took me by the arm. "Let's go and meet her now."

I opened my mouth to protest but before I could even take in a breath, a funny tingling grew at my feet and the next moment, everything around me was bathed in white light. I closed my eyes at the blinding light but it was over just as quickly as it had begun. I opened my eyes carefully to find that we were standing on the snow covered banks of a spring. I glanced around in surprise as the woman moved toward the pond and placed her hands on her hips. "Harvest Goddess, come on out!! Now!!!"

I glanced at the spring to find that the surface was rippling ever so slightly. It churned and then swirled just before it rose up into the air. A bubble of water formed before exploding and a beautiful woman was floating above the surface of the spring, a serene smile on her face. Her deep green hair was swept up into two buns on both sides of her head, one of which had a long braid that trailed down and curled around her waist. She was clothed in the most beautiful fabric I had ever seen that shimmered and swayed as if it had a life of its own.

"Dum-Da-Da-Daa!!" The Goddess smiled as she gazed at the two of us standing on the banks of her spring. "Who called my name?" Her green eyes flicked between the two of us before they settled on the woman beside me. "Ah, the Witch Princess! Long time no see!" Her smile was warm but there was a flicker of something in those green eyes that I couldn't name.

"Don't give me that sweet talking, 'good' girl routine, I know you!" The Witch Princess pointed a finger at the Goddess as her chest heaved. She took in a calming breath and tried to relax as she glanced over at me. The smile on her face could only be described as smug as she folded her arms. "Do you remember that day when you said that I could never have an influence over anyone's life?"

The Goddess' smile remained as sweet and serene as ever as she studied her rival and gave a nod. "Oh yes and I remain firm in my statement."

"Hah! You wish!" The Witch Princess moved over to me and pointed a thumb in my direction. "It just so happens that my proof stands right here beside me." Her smile grew as she folded her arms and threw back her head, her blond hair flipping over her shoulder. "I have as much of an influence over people's lives as you do. All she needed was just a little push in the wrong direction…" She laughed after she said this. That laugh, I really couldn't stand her laugh. "So, there! I win this battle!"

The Goddess said nothing but her smile remained, her green eyes ever watchful. The Witch Princess smiled in victory and turned to me, that smug smile didn't look as if it were going to disappear anytime soon. "Well then, I hope you appreciate the trouble I went through to bring you here. You can tell the Goddess how miserable your life has been since you came here. Enjoy your talk!" The Witch Princess laughed then before she took hold of the hem of her black cloak and disappeared from view.

I could only stand there and stare at the spot where the witch had been just seconds before. I couldn't believe what I had just heard… I glanced over at the Harvest Goddess, who was still floating above her spring with and studying me with that calm smile. It took a moment but I finally managed to find my voice. "I'm… I'm only here because of a fight between you two?" I stared at my gloved hands and shook my head as the blood began to roar in my ears. "I… I can't believe this… All this time I had thought I was here for a reason… I had a home before this, a job and responsibilities. I found myself here in a place I never thought could really exist. I thought there had to be a good reason I had come here and yet I find out it's because of some rivalry between a goddess and a witch."

"Annie, what makes you think you aren't here for a good reason?" The Goddess said as she floated a little closer toward the bank. I glanced up at her, the confusion quite clear on my face to even the blindest person. For one, she knew my name when I had never even met her before and two, she had a knowing look in her eyes that was beginning to make me uncomfortable. The Goddess held out a hand and beckoned me to come closer. I was still dumbstruck over everything I had seen and heard but I moved closer to the shore of the spring. The Goddess leaned down to gaze into my eyes, her green orbs flicking from side to side as if she were reading something. A heartbeat passed before her smile grew and she straightened, a soft laugh bubbling up from her. "Ah yes, I see now. My, my, you do have excellent taste…"

"What? What do you mean?" I held a hand over my heart, she had seen something significant I just knew it. "What did you see?" I asked as I studied her, my confusion growing worse with each passing moment.

The Goddess held a hand over her mouth as her laughter emerged and she shook her head. "Don't worry your pretty little head Annie. I promise you, the reason you are here will be clear given time." Her hand fell away and her smile grew warm. "I have been watching you… Oh yes, I know all about you and where you come from. This world isn't the only one that I can reach… I just want you to know that everyone deserves a second chance at happiness and you are no exception." She floated away from me and raised a hand in farewell. "Just keep in mind that you will have to make a choice later on down the road. It will be a difficult choice but one that will be necessary…"

"Choice? What choice?" I moved closer to the bank and held a hand out to her. "What did you see?"

"You will find out for yourself, give it time Annie… Speaking of the time, I do believe your friend Mary is looking for you." The Goddess pointed beyond the trees that surrounded the spring as she tilted her head to the side, her smile thoughtful. "Follow this path straight through, it will lead you to the river and back toward the town. I will be keeping an eye on you…"

"Wait!" I called out to her but she had faded from view and the ethereal air that had been surrounding the spring disappeared with her. I glanced at the swirling surface of the spring, her words echoing back and forth in my mind. I frowned as I turned and walked down the path that she had directed, all the while my mind churning with questions. The one question that bothered me the most was, what was the choice I was going to have to make? Just what exactly did the Harvest Goddess see? I sighed as I made my way out of the forest and back into town, well I guess I'll find out when the time comes but I had the feeling I wasn't going to like the answer to that question. Not one bit...