Stardew Valley Fanfiction:
'The Farmer Witch'
Chapter 53:
It was the final day of the Nightmarket event. After today, the caravan would be heading out to another destination. Alice debated on whether or not she even wanted to go to the third night of the event. She had already seen all the attractions, so the only real reason to go would be the shopping. She couldn't think of anything she possibly needed or wanted, but after telling her master of her plans to skip the final night he had protested vehemently.
"But it's tradition! You can't not attend all three nights!" A disappointed Damon had said.
Alice then had to remind the man that he had skipped the last twenty years of the Nightmarket to go hide off in the city. A bashful Damon still pleaded with her to go or at least stop by for a little while, to which Alice finally agreed.
Sebastian had gotten a call from Sam earlier, asking if he wanted to tag along with him and Abigail for the final night, so he already had plans. So it came to pass that at 5:00pm the witch walked with her master down to the docks once more, to experience the final night of the exotic merchant stands.
When she had asked Damon where he wanted to start, the warlock had suggested the Mysterious Traveling Cart. In fact, he had sounded a little bit too eager in Alice's opinion.
"Want to head back to say 'hi' to your girlfriend?" Alice drolled.
Damon's ears turned red. "I'll have you know that Drusilla and I have been friends for years. She and her mother used to bring their Traveling Cart through Cindersap every couple of days as far back as my childhood." He sounded a little defensive though, like Alice's words had held a bit of truth to them. It had been pretty obvious that the man had been flirting with the merchant the previous evening.
Alice shrugged it off and followed the man to the floating shop. Damon gave the woman a shy wave which she returned enthusiastically and came over to talk with them. Alice and her master spent a short time explaining how they knew one another. The shop owner obviously knew Alice as the farmer in town, but had been surprised to find out that the girl knew Damon. After going through the abridged version of their story, Alice left the two to chat while she browsed the fresh stock of items for sale. She wasn't really paying attention, just browsing the various dishes, furniture, and seeds, until—
"Cabbage!" She shouted so loudly that Damon jumped beside her at the counter. The shop owner looked over at the girl.
"Yes ma'am, fresh red cabbage, last one I have as well."
Alice was already picking it up, claiming it greedily. Well, it wasn't greed for her own sake. The last item the Junimo had requested was a nice, round red cabbage. Alice thought she would have to wait till next summer to grow them one, but here sat a perfectly good candidate for the Junimo right here in front of her!
She was so excited that she nearly dropped the thing in the water while trying to fish out money from her pockets to pay for it.
Deciding not to risk the poor cabbage's safety, she told Damon that she was going to head straight to the Community Center to drop it off. He chuckled and nodded, agreeing that the Junimo would be glad to receive the final gift.
Alice bid the shop owner a quick farewell and many 'thank you's as she hurried back to town. She bounded towards the Community Center, cabbage in her arms. She only hesitated when she finally arrived at the doors of the large building. Catching her breath before entering, the witch pushed open the doors.
She was immediately greeted with a corus of happy chirps from the ceiling and floorboards. The sprites started to roll across the floor towards their friend. They bounced from beneath furniture and jumped out of the fish tank, shaking off the cool water. Alice presented them with the glorious cabbage, setting it down in the center of the room. This earned many cheers and loud screeching chirps of immeasurable happiness. It took about a dozen Junimo just to lift the veggy up and move it about. They carried off somewhere as the other sprites rejoiced.
Alice had to laugh at their reactions. They were treating this gift of a plant like it was the solution to world hunger.
'Thank you! Thank you! That is all we needed!' She heard them speak in their mysterious language. 'Now we must return to our world. Our world of magic and light!'
Alice frowned. "Will I see you again?" She hadn't realized that the Junimo were planning on leaving after their tasks were completed.
'We will visit! Visit friend!' They promised.
Alice watched as the tiny creatures began putting the final touches on the building, mending wooden planks and even teleporting their tiny hut away to make room for furniture. Then they began to squeak and bounce, waving their goodbyes as one by one they vanished – 'popping' out of view.
Alice realized that there were tears in her eyes as she forced a smile and waved goodbye to her magical friends. Soon it was quiet.
The Community Center bundles had been completed.
God bless the new 1.5 update that gives you the option to get a Red Cabbage guaranteed Year 1. Those things used to be such trolls! - Mystical Jelly
