Author's Note: *GASP* I'm... I'm alive? I'M ALIIIIVVVEEEE! :O I really have no excuse for my absence. I could say that I'm a Senior, and I had a lot of homework and stuff, but that's not a good excuse for the weekends... I'M SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! Well, here is chapter 20, the last chapter that comes from the mind of HorseGirl784. :D You know what I'm going to say now, right? I don't own Harvest Moon, though it pains me to admit it. XD Please enjoy this chapter. Hopefully, I'll be motivated enough to start on Chapter 21 soon.

"What…Oh my gosh," I finally choked out, dumbfounded. The magician sitting across from me chuckled, leaning back on his hands as he watched me flounder for words. There was nothing to describe it; the power I had felt in those few short seconds was incredible. The feel of the magic, thrumming throughout my body, was the best thing I'd ever experienced. I wanted to do it again, immediately.

Chapter 20

Molly's PoV

"…You're leaving?"

"Just for a few days. I…will be back for the New…Year's celebration." Wizard had his back turned to me as he scribbled something down in a leather-bound journal. "I am running low…on magical ingredients for my potions…Some that cannot be found…on Castanet." He turned to me and smirked. "I expect you…to practice accessing your magic while…I am away."

I groaned and walked around the couch, plopping down next to him. It was the twenty fourth today, and winter was finally drawing to a close. Apparently, that also meant that some foreign potion-y things were going out of season and Wizard just had to gather them. He'd be leaving the island to get them, abandoning me to do all the bell work myself. I pouted.

"Why can't I come with you?" I whined, and he chuckled as he stood, mussing my hair as he walked by. I got up to follow him. "I'm learning magic, remember? This could be a great educational experience or something!" I threw my hands in the air before crossing them over my chest. I wasn't about to let him leave me here with nothing but work to do for a few days. I'd been spoiled this season. The lack of crops and unusual amount of free time had made me grow used to just wandering around and being lazy, a habit that was coming back to bite me in butt. I hadn't gathered any wishes yet. "Pleeeeeease let me come."

"No, Molly," Wizard said firmly. "You have work…that needs to be done…and spring to prepare for." I huffed, about to interrupt, but he shot me an irritated glance, and I shut up. "The goddess tree is…becoming weaker every day. The…Harvest King must be summoned…as soon as possible. You have…been distracted with your…training. It is high time…you returned to the task…at hand."

Dang Wizard and his logical answers.

I really wanted to argue further, to coerce him into letting me come, but I knew he was right. Between learning magic, hanging out with my cousins, Wizard, and helping the townspeople, almost no work had been done to help the poor Harvest Goddess and revive her tree. With a dejected sigh, I gave in with poor grace. "When are you leaving?" I asked. "I'll be sure to start getting the wishes together so we can ring the bell when you get back."

"Tonight," Wizard mumbled as he scanned the bookshelves. My shoulders slumped; a few hours, then. It was almost two thirty in the afternoon now. "And I will return…early on the twenty eighth."

"Okay," I mumbled, giving in. I walked back over to him, feet dragging, and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind. Leaning my forehead against his back, just between his shoulder blades, I sighed again and said, "I'll miss you." His body was tense, but I wasn't offended. Wizard wasn't a very touchy-feely person—unlike me, who hugged everybody on a regular basis—, and he wasn't quite used to physical affection yet. I knew it wasn't because he didn't like it; it just took him a few moments to thaw out and return the gesture. Most of time, I usually ended up being the one to grab his hand or kiss him instead of the other way around. But he'd warm up to it, I was sure.

Wizard's frame finally lost its stiffness as he breathed out a heavy sigh. "Likewise," he murmured, and had I been anybody else, I wouldn't have heard the smile in his voice. I grinned into his silky cloak before I let him go, ducking under his arm to stand in front of him so I could see what he was tracing with his finger. It was a small book, the runes on the front unfamiliar and ancient. "It is a spell book," he said, as if he could hear me wondering. "The…first one my Master ever…gave me."

"What does it say?" I asked, taking the book from his hands. I traced the unfamiliar letters with my eyes, trying to decide what it might be talking about. "I've never seen writing like this before. Except on all your books. But still."

"ΑπλήΦυλακτάκαι ξόρκιαγιατηννεαρός μάγος," Wizard said, and he laughed quietly when I turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. "The ancient, magical language," he clarified. "Otherwise…known to humans as ancient…Greek."

"Whoa," I breathed, staring at the cover. Ancient Greek was the root of the magical language? How interesting. I guess that kind of made sense, since it's the oldest language*. Plus, you gotta admit that it even sounds kind of fantasy-like when spoken out loud. Especially coming from an actual wizard. I opened the tome, leafing through the crackly pages. Some were so yellowed and fragile that holes had formed in the paper, cutting off whatever incantation it might have been trying to explain. "How old were you when your master gave this to you?"

Wizard rested his chin on my head, surprising me with the contact, and sighed. "Shortly before his death. So, I…was around thirteen." His arms encircled my waist, and I fought the urge to ask what he was doing. He'd only done that, like, once since we've been together. Which was only a little less than two weeks, but still. "I had to…teach myself most of the…spells inside." To someone else, he may have seemed indifferent. But I knew him well; there was a subtle undercurrent of pain that he was trying to hide.

I didn't say anything, just leaned against him and flipped through the book. There were footnotes in almost all the margins, scrawled messily by a teenage boy's hand. They were written in the same language, Greek, and some were scribbled out only to be corrected right beside it. I wondered if, whenever Wizard actually started teaching me individual spells, he would give this book to me. Or at least read it to me. I wanted to know what the pages said, and what Wizard had thought of. This ancient tome seemed to hold a large mystery as to what Wizard had been like when he was younger.

"What was your master like?" I whispered as I slid the book back into its spot. "You talk about him a lot, but you've never told me his name or how you met him." Wizard slowly let me go and sauntered over to his potion cabinets, taking out a sturdy-looking satchel and stuffing different plants and things into it. He seemed to be thinking, and I patiently waited for him to say something.

"My Master's name was…Mason," he said sadly. "He…told me what it was…in a hidden letter left behind shortly…before his arrest. He knew what…was coming." He frowned, pausing his packing. I hopped up on one of the counters beside him, urging him to continue. Wizard rarely talked so openly with me. "He had been a friend…of my parents for many years. They…did not know he was…a wizard. When my powers were discovered…when I turned six, he offered…to hide me and take care of…me. A year later, after explaining what…I was and how the world feared our…kind, I entered an apprenticeship with…him." Wizard sighed, stopping his preparing all together. He turned and braced his back against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. He grimaced at the ceiling.

I put a comforting hand on his shoulder, realizing that this wasn't something he liked to remember. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said. "I can see he meant a lot to you; that's enough for me." I smiled at him, trying to wipe the painful reminiscence off his face. "Besides," I slid off the counter, "I don't really need to know. It's not my business." Even though I was burning with curiosity.

"Thank you," he mumbled, slinging the satchel over his shoulder. He tromped upstairs, reappearing moments later with a fold-up telescope and a few bags of coffee beans. I rolled my eyes at the latter, but he only chuckled.

"You'll be careful, right?" I chided as I followed him around his house, watching as he gathered up various magical tools and whatnot. "I don't want you to get eaten by a pack of hungry wolves or blasted to smithereens by another wizard or something along those lines."

Wizard laughed heartily at that last statement, and I paused to wonder at it. Wizard's laugh was very different than a human one; it had an almost musical tone to it, like a violin or something, and it kind of echoed for a moment before fading. "I highly doubt that…a fellow magic caster would intend…to harm me," he chortled. "But I can…take care of myself rather well. I am…one of the strongest beings on this island." He paused for a moment, thinking something over. "Well, at the moment, I…am the strongest." Wizard smirked at me, gathering up all his things. I was surprised to hear something like that; the strongest magical being, huh? Cool.

"So you're better than the Goddess at casting spells?" I enthused. He started to answer, but I was on a roll. "That's totally amazing. I had no idea! Are you older than her? Why are you stronger? Have you ever had a duel with her or something?"

"In that…order," Wizard mumbled as he began clearing away space to make his teleportation hole. "Yes, no, I will tell you…when I return, and…of a sort." He shifted his satchel and duffel bag on his shoulder as he bent down, taking me completely by surprise and kissing me sweetly. He chuckled at my bewildered expression when he pulled away. "I must be going. I will…return in a few days." With that, he opened the portal and stepped inside. I waved enthusiastically and gave him a blinding smile when he turned around to look at me one more time, and he gave a tiny wave back. Then the slit closed, cutting off my view of him.

I sighed dreamily as I shoved my feet back into my winter boots. I could handle a few days without him; hopefully, being busy scampering around the town and collecting the wishes in time for his return would keep me occupied enough.

I stepped outside into the winter evening, finding a dejected Finn moping on the ledge to the right of the door. I almost laughed out loud; the pixie had opted to wait outside for me, saying he'd rather not see all the 'mushy stuff'. I tried to tell him that Wizard wasn't like that, but noooo, he wanted to stay outside.

"Finally!" He squeaked. "You were taking for-ev-er. It's getting really cold out here, you know!" This time, I did laugh as he made himself at home on my shoulder. "I was so bored!"

"And get this," Kasey said excitedly, taking another swig from his bottle. We were at the Brass Bar, the six of us all seated around a table. It was Angela, Kasey, Selena, Kathy, Chase and me. The rest of the restaurant was empty; with much eyelash-batting and crocodile tears, Kathy had convinced her dad to open the place up just for us. It was about eleven a.m. of the twenty fifth, so we were all just relaxing and goofing off. "The guy says that I had no talent and would get nowhere. But then I get to the studio and they're all like, 'Ohmygoodnessyou'resogoodwe'llgiveyouthishugemulti-milliondollarcontract!'"

"Pfft," Angela said, rolling her eyes at her twin. Kathy and Selena looked like they were about to die laughing at the sheer impossibility of Kasey's story. "That is so not how it happened, Doofus." She leaned forward, bracing her elbows on the table and eyeing the gang. "You were playing your guitar on street corners and passing the hat when someone said you were good." She took a gulp of her cocktail as I stirred my Dr. Pepper self-consciously.

Selena rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "You city boys and your ridiculous tales to impress us." She flipped her scarlet hair over her shoulder haughtily. "I am anything but." Kathy and Chase snickered, but Kasey was unperturbed. He merely shrugged, saying, "Who said I was trying to impress anyone?"

"Uh, you did," Chase pointed out. He and Kasey had become fast friends, much to everyone's surprise. The cook wasn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. They hung out a lot at the inn, I heard from Maya. Speaking of which…

"Hey," I said, looking around. "Where's Maya at?" I turned to Kathy, seated on my left. "I thought she woulda come around by now or something." When Angela chuckled, though, I knew something was up. Chase was smirking and looking like he was trying not to laugh, and Kasey was rolling his eyes. Selena, Kathy, and I were the only ones that didn't know what was going on. We looked at each other, confused.

Angela took another sip of her drink. "She's at the inn." She grinned devilishly. "Ogling Kevin."

My can of soda stopped halfway to my mouth, my eyes bugging out of their sockets. "But I thought she liked Chase!" I protested, ignoring Selena's gasp of surprise at the news. I pointed at the chef, as if no one could see him. "That's impossible!"

"Not really," Kasey piped. He punched Chase's shoulder playfully when he said, "Mr. Grinch here finally scared her off, and then Kevin came waltzing in. All I hear about from both of them nowadays is 'Oh my gosh, he's soooooo cute' or 'Kasey, have you perchance seen Maya out and about? I must go impress her with my vast knowledge of all things completely useless'. It's sickening."

"Isn't he a lot older than her, though?" Kathy said, staring at my cousins. "Like, six years or something?"

"Five," Angela said. "But yeah. I've got no problem with it, though. It's about time he got out on the field." Kasey snickered his agreement. I shook my head, chugging my soda. You learn something new every day, huh?

"Anyway," I said, cutting off a brewing argument between Angela and Chase. In the two weeks she'd been in town they'd hardly softened up towards each other, but I thought that by mid-spring they'd at least be able to be in the same room without problems. Maybe. "I was wondering… if you guys could wish for anything in the whole wide world, what would it be?"

"Why the sudden interest?" Chase probed, running a hand through his peachy hair. He'd forgotten his hairpins today, so it was twice as wild and unkempt as usual. I just shrugged. Sure they knew I was searching for the bells to revive the island, but saying that I needed them to tell to a magical wishing shrine hidden somewhere in the church seemed just a little out there.

"Just curious."

Chase glared at me for a moment before giving in with a shrug. "I dunno… to make people happy with my cooking?" Angela snorted, and I elbowed her harshly in the ribs. The chef scowled at her for a minute before turning thoughtful. "I guess I kind of do that anyway, so to improve a little every day seems about right." He sat back in his chair, looking a little embarrassed. Kasey clapped him on the shoulder, saying how noble that was. If cooking can be noble.

To my surprise, though, Angela didn't make any smart remarks. She merely stared into her glass, biting her lip in thought. She jumped when I asked, "What about you, Ang?" My cousin sighed and sat back in her chair, staring at the ceiling as she thought. She shook her head. "I'm not really sure," she said. "There're a lot of things I could wish for right now."

"But what's the biggest one? The most important wish?"

Ang played with the little umbrella in her glass for a minute, eyes flickering to the five faces staring at her nervously. I began to worry; this wasn't typical Angela behavior. Normally she didn't have any problems saying what was on her mind, nice or not. Seeing her squirm uncomfortably when asked a question was kinda scary. "Umm… my biggest wish right now is to create a better life for myself."

"Better?" The people chorused, but my cousin merely nodded, not meeting their gazes. I decided not to push her here, in front of my friends. Whatever was bothering her didn't need to become town gossip; it was one of the downfalls of living in such a small society. If something even mildly interesting happens, then suddenly every single person knows the ins and outs of the situation. It was pretty irritating, really.

I moved on, asking Kathy, Kasey, and Selena the same thing. The barmaid wanted a worthy opponent to race horses with (and blushed profusely when Chase 'coughed' "Owen" into his fist), Selena wanted to become the best professional dancer the world had ever seen **, and Kasey wanted to make people happy with his music. They were all pretty cool wishes, not at all what I was expecting. I kept thinking someone would say "Get rich" or "Find love", something cheesy and cliché like that. I was pleasantly surprised.

Five wishes down, five to go. This is easy. Maybe a bit too easy.

HorseGirl784's original Author's notes:

* I have no idea if this is true or not. I just wanted an excuse to use a really cool language that nobody knows anymore.

** I haven't gotten Selena's wish yet in the game. I don't know what it is, so I'm taking a guess.

Author's Note #2 (Jesusrosefromthedead): I have to write the next chapter myself... I hope it turns out okay... XD