Hey guys! I want to apologize for taking so long to write it. I've had so much drama and homework and blah blah blah, let's face it; you don't want to hear about it. I have to say this may be one of my favorite chapters. Hope you guys like it as much as I do.
DISCLAIMOR: I do not own Harvest Moon. Everything goes to their respectful owners. All I own is the storyline and my handsanitizer :)
Oh! Hey check out my deviantart :D
She was asleep for the rest of the day. Gray and Kai came to knock on her door twice but she was asleep and didn't hear them. They figured that she had gone somewhere to rest, like the hot springs. When she woke up she checked her temperature and sure enough, she was sick. With the little strength she still had she got up and made herself a hot tea and crawled back into bed. The next day she felt somewhat better and the Mayor came to knock at her door.
As Claire made her way to the door she glanced at the calendar. Fall 17th, the horse race was tomorrow! She ran faster to the door and greeted the Mayor.
"Hello Claire, I came to tell you that we have our Fall horse race tomorrow. Will you be participating with Cyclone this year?"
"Yes!"
"Very well then, I'll take Cyclone with me and we'll see you there tomorrow!"
"Thanks Thomas!" she waved at Cyclone as he snorted when the Mayor pulled him out of the farm. Gray came in at the same time the Mayor was exiting.
"Hey Cyclone, you ready for tomorrow?" he asked softly petting Cyclone's nose. The horse whinnied happily. "Claire!"
"Hey Gray,"
"Claire, where you been? You ran after the doc, did you have something important to tell him or what?"
"Sorry I left you like that. Uh yeah something really important, I'd rather not go into detail."
"Well I see you're up and out."
"Not really, I just went to go see Cyclone out. I'm going back to bed."
"If you don't feel good you shouldn't race tomorrow."
"If I go back to bed now I'll be fine in the morning so if you'll excuse me," she tried closing the door on Gray but he put his hand between the door.
"Hold on Claire, you sure you're okay? Ever since that one day after you, Zack, Rick and I helped with the shipment you seemed kind of... weird."
"There's just lot of things on my mind."
"You're not thinking of leaving the farm are you?"
"I don't know Gray." she shut the door silently. Gray stood outside for a moment, he was going to knock on the door again but it was no use. Claire could talk to him when she felt like it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
The next morning she woke up and brushed her hair. Walking to her closet she picked out her white overalls, they were the color she always wore to competitions; they gave her a sense of hope and professionalism.
Putting her shoes on she walked outside, her nose was still a little stuffy but she had done good by not going outside those couple of days. She walked to the Town Square and greeted everyone.
"Hi Claire, do great today! I'm sure you'll win." Rick shook her hand.
"Claire! Don't fall off, be careful!" Mary warned.
"At a girl Claire, show 'em whose boss!" Popuri cheered.
"Claire, you go kick everyone's ass!" Gray patted her on the back.
"I'm betting my money on you dollface, you better win." Kai said ruffling her hair. He leaned into her ear to whisper something. "If you win, I can promise you a whole night with me, but I might be keeping you up if you know what I mean."
Gray pulled Kai by the collar. "Leave her alone retard."
Claire looked at him confused then smiled and said, "Okay." Then she walked on to the track.
"Alright Claire, you saw the track, all you have to do is steer your horse around the track, the first one to cross the finish line wins." the old man from the Yodel Farm explained. Claire had no idea how he knew her name but figured it was from the participants' sheet.
"Any bets? Would anyone like to place any bets? The race is about to begin." Claire looked over at the line of people paying their bets on each horse. She wasn't nervous at first but now she wasn't so sure, fear began to well up in her once more and her heart pounded in her chest. She had practiced for this, she could do it. The racers mounted their horses and Claire walked up to hers. Nothing could distract her today, nothing. She put her foot on one sling and threw her other across the creature and sat down. She petted her horse's neck.
"We can do this Cyclone, we can win!" she grabbed the rope and Cyclone got into position.
"Ready riders?" the Mayor stood on the side, a fake gun in his hand. "Set, GO!" He pulled the trigger and a loud BANG ran in the air. The riders took off and Claire was galloping at high speed. She took a quick glance at everyone, they all cheered. Her friends stood on the sidelines just ahead of her at the first turn, they all chanted her name. "CLAIRE! CLAIRE!"
Smiling, she glanced at the entrance of the Square. Just running into the square with his white coat trailing behind him was Trent. He stopped in his tracks and looked at Claire. Her eyes widened and she felt dizzy. So many things were rushing to her head. Letting go of the rope with one hand she grabbed her forehead. Her vision blurred, the horses rounded the first turn. Too weak to hang on, the rope slipped out of Claire's hand. Her heart stopped for a second and she felt herself falling off Cyclone. At the speed the horse was galloping, she flew right off.
Everyone in the audience gasped. She fell on the ground with a thud and rolled across the square, passing out.
"Claire!" her friends started running towards her but a flash of white sped past them.
Trent bolted to her side. He knelt beside her and brought her up in his arms. Turning her head to face him, she had blacked out. Her forehead was covered in crimson, streaming down her face. Her white clothes were stained and dirty. He picked her up and turned to everyone who were now staring at the two of them.
They all looked worried. Cyclone had stopped in his tracks but the rest of the riders had kept galloping away. Popuri, Ann, Mary, Rick, Gray, Kai, and Zack stepped forward to look at her. Popuri gasped and Ann hid her face in Gray's chest crying. Kai and Gray held their tears in, Mary covered her mouth with her hand and Zack couldn't help but step forward and get a better look at her. Rick held his sister's hand tight as Trent walked past them all. All of them followed except Zack who stayed behind so no one would wonder why an older man was lurking behind the injured teen.
Trent kicked the door open to the clinic and Elli jumped.
"Oh!" she spun around and dropped some papers she was filing. Trent made a beeline to the checkup room and put Claire down on the bed without a sound.
"Let me help you with that." Kai said walking over to Elli's side and helping her pick up the papers.
"I appreciate the help but shouldn't you be with Claire right now, instead of flirting with me you should be with your friend." Elli whispered
"Don't belittle me, I'm being a gentleman by helping you with the papers but the only girl I care about right now is my friend Claire. Don't think so much of yourself," he said standing up and handing her the last paper. "It's disgraceful."
He walked over to the waiting area and left Elli wide mouthed.
"So what's going on right now?" Ann finally asked
"I don't know." Gray responded.
"Do you think she'll be alright?" Rick asked worried
"I sure hope so." Popuri said, her voice shaking.
"Clam down guys, Claire's a strong girl," Mary added holding Gray's arm.
"This kind of reminds me of the Goddess Tale my mom used to tell me all the time." Ann said quietly.
"What tale?" Mary asked.
"Well, a long time ago, when this island was just beginning to flourish there was a young girl. She was beautiful; she worked on a farm that had just been built. One day, she met a man and she fell in love with him and he fell in love with her. Everything was going good; they would meet each other every day. But one day while they were on the peak of Mother's Hill she slipped on a rock and fell. She completely blacked out, he picked her up and ran all the way to the clinic. When the doctor came out of the room and told him she was dying, he ran to her side. He prayed to the Goddess to bring her back. Nothing the doctor did was working. As she was about to die, he leaned down and kissed her. Seconds after the kiss, she woke up. His undying love for her brought her back, he loved her so much. It was a story that proved true love was powerful."
"That's just another sappy love story Ann," Gray laughed.
"But I didn't tell you the most important part," Ann said and the room got quiet, "she didn't know he loved her back. And he never told her he did, he didn't know whether she loved him or not."
"It's too much magic to be true!" Popuri exclamed.
"Magic…" Ann whispered.
Trent rushed to his desk; bottles of disinfectants, other liquids and bandages clanged together in his arms. Elli came in to assist him and they disappeared into the room. He took a wet cloth and wiped the blood off her forehead. He found the wound and blood was still streaming out but it was slowing down now. He dampened another cloth with disinfectants and padded the injury. He rolled a thick layer of bandage around her head over the wound. It wasn't too deep or big but the fall had knocked her out.
As he was doing this, Elli connected Claire to the IV and other big machinery that displayed her heart rate and other important data that only the doctor knew. She clicked in last tube and the machine started beeping with Claire's heartbeat.
-Beep-
-Beep-
-Beep-
"Stay with me Claire," Trent whispered.
Elli signaled the group in. Almost in single file the six of them rushed to the room where their friend was. Mary stepped out after coming in; she couldn't take the sight but told everyone she was going to call Jack instead. "He is her brother, he should know," was all she could say as she reached for the front door to walk to the Inn and use their telephone.
Just as Mary was stepping out, the Mayor came in. Worried, he walked into the room and at the sight of the bandaged and bloody young farmer he exclaimed, "Oh Goddess!"
"How is she Doctor?" he asked the frightened twenty-three year old.
"It doesn't look good sir. I've bandaged her wound but it won't stop bleeding. She fell hard and at this rate it's a miracle she's breathing-"
"Just barely, her heart rate's going down," Elli cut in. They all turned their heads to the monitor.
-Beep-
-Beeep-
Trent looked at Claire and noticed, "She stopped breathing!"
"What?" Rick yelled.
"Claire!" Kai and Ann gasped at the same time.
"Come on Claire don't you dare fail on us now!" Gray said, his voice trailing and shaking.
"Claire stay with us," Popuri said scared.
"Doctor do something!" Elli screamed.
"I'm trying, nothing's working!"
"Wait, what about the Goddess Myth?" Mayor Thomas offered.
"You know about it too Mayor?" Popuri wondered.
"But who should kiss her?" Ann asked.
Everyone including the Mayor looked at Gray.
"What? Me?" Gray blushed. Trent's eyes widened.
-Beeeep-
"Her heart rates getting slower!" Elli yelled.
"Everyone out of the room! I have to do something!" Trent yelled. Elli pushed everyone into the waiting room and came back in. The doctor was leaning over the bed, his hand on his forehead.
"Elli, what's the Goddess Myth?"
"It's a tale about true love. The man a girl is in love with kisses her and she lives."
"That's ridiculous! Why should it even be Gray who kisses her?"
"I don't know doctor, Gray does seem very fond of her and her of him. The kids think it's too much magic though."
"Leave Elli, let me see what I can do."
"Doctor there's not much you ca-"
"OUT!" he yelled at her. The twenty-one year old ran out of the room frightened. He pulled the chair to him and sat down.
Claire lay on the bed, unconscious and just barely breathing. He looked at her lovingly and his eyes began to water. Her golden hair spread out on the bed, her tiny arms at her side and her face, nearly lifeless.
"Kiss her? That's ridiculous." He took her hand and a tear streamed down his cheek.
-Beeep-
-Beeeep-
-Beeeeeeeeeeep-
"Claire! No, stay with me." His eyes streamed with tears. Memories flashed through his mind.
You sure are clumsy.
"I'll never leave you Trent!"
All you need is a little magic, Claire.
"Magic..." he whispered.
-Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep-
"No!" He stood up and knocked the chair to the floor. He held her hand tight. As he cried he kissed her hand softly, drops of tears fell on her hand as they flooded like faucets out of his eyes.
-GASP- Claire stood up suddenly. Only inches from her face, she stared into Trent's eyes. His eyes widened.
"Claire," he whispered surprised.
"Trent," She threw her arms around him and began to cry. He held her close and wrapped his arms around her. "Trent, I was so scared!" she cried.
"It's okay, it's okay," he stroked her head as she cried. Silently, he cried himself.
-Beep-
-Beep-
-Beep-
Her heart rate had returned to normal and Trent sat down as the door burst open. Her friends cheered and went up to her to hug her and make sure she was okay.
Claire was given time to rest and everyone went home to sleep. Elli left to check up on her grandmother.
"Trent," Claire appeared at the door of Trent's office.
"Claire! Are you sure you should be walking so soon?"
"I'm fine," she walked over to him and he stood up.
Everything was quiet and they shared a moment of silence. All he could do was smile lovingly at her.
"Trent," Claire finally spoke up, "why were you crying?"
"What?" He said shocked.
"When I woke up, I looked at you and there were tears running down your face."
Trent blushed and looked away.
"Trent," she reached to grab his hand.
Her fingers touched his and they both paused. He turned to look at her with a surprised expression on his face. She looked up at him equally surprised. He turned to face her again and took her hand. Blushing, they both placed their hand against the other's. Trent's fingers stretched over hers, his hand was larger than hers and hers were warmer. Slowly, their fingers intertwined. Claire looked up from her hand to Trent's face. She blushed and gave him a warm smile. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"I love you Claire."