Stardew Valley Fanfiction:
'The Farmer Witch'
Chapter 40:
Sebastian seemed to finally be getting to the point of whatever he had pulled Damon aside to ask - but they were interrupted by the Mayor's arrival.
"Damon? Is it really you?"
Alice had started heading over to the three men now, thinking Damon might need some emotional support for round two of meeting old friends.
Damon forced a smile, nodding. "It's good to see you Mayor. It's been a long time, right? I can't even remember how many years it's been actually." He continued sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in an all too familiar nervous habit.
Lewis looked between Damon and Sebastian, then back to Damon. "About twenty-one years." He stated slowly. By now Alice was back at Damon's side. Sebastian stood on the other side of the warlock, clearly a bit put out over being interrupted. Alice noticed Marnie, Pam, and Judy watching them from a distance. Marnie seemed to be explaining something to Sam in hushed tones, who was accompanying his mother. She was moving her hands a lot as she whispered to the youth. Sam was looking at her like she was crazy and just kept shaking his head. Alice noticed his eyes growing wide before she turned her attention back to the Mayor as he spoke to her master.
Something was clearly up, but she had no idea what it could be. Everyone was treating Damon like he was some sort of criminal, being careful with their words and questioning him in odd ways, talking behind his back to one another. Was it because he was a warlock? She figured the other villagers probably hadn't known that, but they had been fine when they learned Alice was a witch, so what was the problem?
"Damon, I didn't realize that Sebastian and you had formed contact." Lewis pressed on. He looked a little concerned. "If you don't mind me asking, does Robin know about this?"
Alice looked up at her master. He looked paler than usual at the mention of the carpenter's name. The warlock looked like he'd just been slapped in the face. "Robin? What… do you mean?"
"Yeah, what does my mom have to do with him visiting? He's a guest of Alice's." Sebastian chimed in.
Lewis looked at Sebastian with what appeared to be… pity? The elderly man sighed softly, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
But Damon wasn't looking at Lewis anymore. He had turned to face Sebastian, "Your… mother? You're… Robin's son?"
Sebastian shoved his hands into his pockets. "Um, yeah… Should I have mentioned that sooner?" He shifted back and forth on his toes. "Did you know my mom back when you lived in the valley?"
Alice looked to Lewis and Lewis looked at his own feet. The pit in the farmer's stomach was only growing deeper as the feeling of something being 'off' was starting to grow again.
Damon rubbed his forearm, avoiding eye contact with Sebastian. "I, uh… yes. I was-well… we were engaged once upon a time." He finished weakly with a small chuckle, hiding what was clearly a lot of pain behind the forced laugh.
Alice watched quite clearly as something clicked in Sebastian's brain, his mouth falling open as he stared at the man before him with new eyes.
But Damon was too busy fighting his own embarrassment to notice the change in Sebastian's demeanor. He carrier on with his explanation. "But things didn't exactly work out… I wasn't entirely honest with her about my magical heritage and… and things didn't work out… and I left the valley… after we split up." He looked miserable, reliving the memories in his head.
Alice wanted to say something. She wanted to comfort him. She wanted to ask a million questions and tell Damon a million things in this moment. But the cold wind of Spirit's Eve had come and stolen her voice away. She gaped, open-mouthed at her master, tears starting to form in her eyes as the weight of realization pulled her downwards like a sandbag dragging her deep into the darkness of the ocean.
Luckily Mayor Lewis broke the horrid silence that had fallen after Damon had finished his story. He put a steadying hand on Damon's shoulder, causing the man to look over at him. "Damon… my boy… are you saying you didn't know Robin had a son?"
Damon smiled sadly. "I've been gone a long time… It's not like I didn't expect her to find someone new." He sighed. "Is it someone I know?" The man seemed resigned to having to talk about this most dreaded of subjects now.
Lewis' grip on Damon's shoulder only seemed to tighten briefly as he fought to find the proper words to explain Damon through this. "Robin re-married a few years after you left… but Sebastian was born the season after you disappeared. As far as anyone was told, Robin's always said that you were his father."
Damon stared at the Mayor. He blinked. His mouth attempted a few times to form words but failed. The whole festival seemed to have grown quiet since all the regulars in town had stopped to watch the confrontation. Only the few groups from out of town were still moving around at the north end of the event.
After staring blankly at the Mayor for a time and getting no further explanation, the terrified warlock turned to face the young man beside him.
"You're my-?"
There was a gasp and the sound of breaking glass from behind the Mayor. The group turned to see a petrified looking Robin covering her mouth, a glass mug shattered at her feet, clearly dropped out of shock.
Forty chapter special! Two updates in one day and the 'climax' to the pretty obvious twist of Damon's identity! Leave a review and let me know how many chapters it took for you to know or suspect the connection! - Mystical Jelly
