This is a little something I wrote in my spare time, a tribute to my favorite girl in Rune Factory 3, Carmen. Carmen (and Rune Factory in general) needs more love. So since RF5 is on the horizon and the games are in my thoughts again, I thought I'd try my hand at it.

Crystal Blue Heart

Chapter 1

On slow days, Carmen would stare out the window of the shop at the sparkling blue waters of Dragon Lake and dreamed of the sea. And like most days, today was a slow day.

Resort Carlos (the NERVE of her brother, naming their store after himself! Didn't he have any shame?!) was not the most popular attraction in town. It wasn't cool enough to be the hangout spot for the hip and happening kids in town, and all the grownups were too busy working or too tired and old to take the time to walk all the way down to the beach. The only people to come by on occasion were Karina, who only came to the beach to hang out "ironically", a word that as close as Carmen could tell apparently meant "sleeping under the shade of a tree when she was supposed to be working", and Pia, who, well…

Pia didn't like Carmen very much. She was too polite to ever say anything about it, but every time Carmen tried to speak to her, she would turn and walk away without saying a word. After enough encounters like that, and a few nights crying into her pillow, Carmen had accepted that the pink haired girl who was so sweet to everyone else was just the latest in a long line of girls that wanted nothing to do with her.

And those were the people who Carmen would see on a given day. It was a miracle that the two of them still had a roof over their heads considering the average number of people who would stop by to fish within any given week (usually tourists passing through) could be counted on one hand. Fortunately, Carlos would fish every day, which would put food on their table, and supplement their income by helping out Hazel with the occasional odd job around the Diamond General Store on occasions where Karina was dedicated enough to put real effort into shirking work. Between that and selling fish to Blaise and Shino, and they could barely keep out of the red.

If not for the fact that Carmen's ability to wrangle a budget was second only to her ability to wrangle a big one, they probably would have starved by now. Carlos was horrible with money. Her brother would rather spend time flexing in the mirror or giving compliments to the local ladies than actually focus on the business that he supposedly cared so much for. People often said that Carmen was dumb, but she wasn't! She just didn't like reading books. They all had too many big words and not enough pictures. Whenever she tried to read anything bigger than a magazine it made her feel like the biggest dummy in the world, so she just didn't bother. So what if all the other girls were laughing it up talking about stupid old romance novels? Carmen had fishing and that was way more entertaining than trying to puzzle her way through every fourth word on a page!

…And that was one of the many reasons why Carmen had no friends. She'd been living in Sharance for 8 years now, and she still didn't have anyone she could really call a friend who wasn't an obnoxious blood-relative who kept her up late with his snoring.

It wasn't that she didn't try, either. Ask anyone in town without pink hair and they'd tell you that Carmen was one of the most cheerful, outgoing, and friendly girls they'd ever met! But just because people like you doesn't mean they were your friends. Carmen, well…

For starters, she lived pretty far outside town. Not as far away as Daria, but it wasn't exactly like she would meet any neighbors to say "hey" to while out for a stroll. Besides, all the other girls her age had their own little friend groups. Daria didn't want any friends in the first place, so she was right out. Colette and Marian were thick as thieves, in spite of Colette's insistence, while Pia and Sakuya were joined at the hip. Raven, Sofia, and Karina were always hanging out together, and Shara, well…

Everybody loved Shara, aka "the Blooming Flower of Sharance". If Sharance was a kingdom, Shara would be the princess. If Sharance was a lake, Shara would be the most beautiful Love Snapper in it. Shara was the diamond you break open rocks to treasure, while Carmen was the scrap iron you left behind to rust in the rubble.

All the girls had their own friends, and there was no room for little Carmen to cast her line in to join them.

Carmen let out a sigh. The lake was especially beautiful today. As beautiful as the ocean. Carmen had only been to the ocean once that she could remember, when she was really little. Her dad had taken her and her brother out on his boat to go fishing. She remembered walking for what felt like hours to get there, and her dad had had to carry her the rest of the way. And she remembered what she had felt, staring out at that crystal blue water, stretching so far away Carmen couldn't see where it ended.

Closing her eyes, Carmen could still see it just as clearly all these years later.

Her dad was gone, now. Her mother, too. Their boat? Scrap on the ocean floor, most likely.

But the ocean was still there. And maybe someday she'd go back to it. But today wasn't that day.

Carmen got out of her seat and picked up the duster the sat atop the pile of clutter that Carlos insisted was for sale. No one was coming, no one ever came, and there were other chores to do. She spared one last glance out the window, willing the cherry blossoms away. Spring was fine, and all, but Summer was what she was waiting for. Summer was the time of year that Carmen could really cut loose. She was a Summer gal, loving to swim and fish, work on her tan, and best of all, Summer was the one season when people were really eager to fish! It was the only time when their shop actually turned a profit. There were four fishing festivals per year in Sharance, and still there wasn't nearly enough fishing to be done.

Carmen began to dust one of the paintings of a particularly beautiful ocean-side town called "Alvarna" that her brother had picked up in a shop somewhere. If only she could live in such a place… they must fish all year 'round. Carmen knew that she would, if she could. If she didn't have to look after the shop she'd be out fishing right now! There was really nothing better than the feeling of casting out your line into the pale blue water, sitting in the sand or on the dock or maybe the bank of a river somewhere and just feel the tug of the current pull at your line… it made everything seem so peaceful, so still… it made her feel like time itself had stopped.

…Unlike dusting, which only made her feel like her breathing was gonna stop. Carmen coughed into her fist, spitting a little. Carlos had SWORE he dusted last week, the liar! Carmen made a resolution to double check it next time. The only thing in this rundown place Carlos ever bothered to clean was that stupid mirror of his!

…No, she shouldn't think that way. Carmen set the duster down and clapped her hands against her cheeks, repudiating herself for her thoughts. Carlos was trying his best! And this… this was their dream! The dream they had been talking about since…

…

Well, since… "back then."

Carmen had only been 6 when her parents went missing at sea. When Carlos told her, she had cried and cried and cried for so long she had thought she would never cry again. Carlos had only been a few years older than her, just a 12 year old kid with more attitude than sense. It hadn't been easy, growing up the way she did. Some distant relatives took them in, and Carlos immediately began working at whatever he could. She admired that about her brother. Under the bravado and flirting, no one worked harder than Carlos did. He promised her, back then, that someday he would save up enough money so that the two of them could buy a small place out by a lake somewhere, or maybe the sea, to set up shop and fish their hearts away. He had pinkie-promised and everything.

That had been the dream that had gotten Carmen through the pain of losing her parents. With nothing but her dad's hat to remember them by, she had tried to move on, but she quickly found out that no, she still had more tears to shed. The other girls in the city didn't like her. They said she smelled like fish, that she looked like a boy, that her clothes were old and gross and her hair looked like grass. Compared to their teasing, Pia not talking to her was sweet relief. But through all of it, the name-calling, the nose-pinching, the angry teachers telling her she had to use her words and not her fists when a boy was teasing, like that one who pulled on her hair and told her it was too short for a girl…

Dreams of fishies and the ocean let her put up with all of it. And somehow, her brother had made it happen. Because he was just that sort of guy. Every time he said he was going to do something, he did it.

…Except the laundry.

…Or the dishes.

…Or the fucking dusting.

…

Okay, MOST times he said he was going to do something, he did it.

It had taken him four years of scrounging, scraping, and a bunch of things that Carmen didn't know if she wanted to know or not, but he had done it. It wasn't the ocean, but it was theirs. He had brought her there when she was just 10 years old, and staring out at that lake, Carmen resolved to put her past behind her. She wasn't going to be the shy, timid girl who people laughed at for smelling like fish. She was going to put on a big smile and greet everyone with a hearty laugh, just like her big brother always did! She wouldn't spare another thought to those times, if she was lucky.

The only thing she still had left from those painful days was Rodney, the old fishing pole Carlos had given her for her birthday. She had long-since switched to a much better model, but she still kept Rodney tucked away on a shelf in her room to remember her brother's promise. That the two of them would create their dream of a fishing resort.

Dreams always seem better in your head, that was something that Carmen had come to learn the hard way. She still liked fishing, she knew that was never going to change. But as she grew older, her brother's dream of opening a fishing resort where people could come by and fish to their heart's content became less and less bright.

"…It would be one thing if I got to actually do a lot of fishing," Carmen sighed, scratching her head. She had to settle for rearranging the fishing poles instead.

It wasn't that she didn't get to fish. Carlos would come back to run things in the afternoons, and then she could go out fishing, but…

Carlos didn't like her fishing where he couldn't see her. She would have to ask him for permission every time she wanted to go to Vale River, or Privera Forest, or heck, even Oddward Falls to get some fishing! He was so darn protective!

Admittedly, she understood why. Considering what had happened to their parents, it made sense to her that Carlos would be worried whenever she went off to go fishing. But he didn't have to be THIS overprotective.

She stared at the window as she cleaned, watching the path down to the beach out of the corner of her eye in the hope that her brother would be coming back soon.

It was just past three when she heard that familiar knock on the door that signaled her brother's return. Her face lit up and she leapt from her seat at the counter, grabbing her fishing pole off of a nearby shelf and running over to greet her brother halfway across the room. Carlos stepped through the door and the fishing shop lit up in his presence. The light in his eyes had that effect, even in spite of Carmen's doubts, when he was right there with her she believed in him. And if Carmen wasn't his sister, she could even imagine herself falling from him, seeing that bright smile on his chiseled, tanned face, and the ripple of his muscles.

"Brother!" Carmen cheered, Carlos greeting her with a smile as bright as hers in return. "Welcome back!"

"Hello, dear sister!" Carlos bellowed. "I've returned! How were things?"

"We sadly didn't have many guests," Carmen sighed, shaking her head. "Alas. But don't lose hope! We'll do our best! In the meantime, though, it's your turn to take over!"

"Eager to get out and get some fishing in, huh?" Carlos laughed, slapping his chest affably. "Don't worry, sister. There's more than enough time before sunset."

"You can never spend too much time fishing," Carmen reminded him with a pout, before her face brightened up again. "Anyways, I'll be off!"

"Ah ah ah, aren't you forgetting something?" Carlos asked, raising his eyebrow and crossing his arms in front of his broad chest.

"Huh?" Carmen asked, confused.

Carlos nodded to a set of large buckets.

"You're on well duty this week," Carlos reminded her. "Finish bringing in the water, then you can go fishing."

Carmen's face went pale and she sighed, removing her fishing rod from where it was slung over her shoulder and picking up the two large empty buckets instead, reluctantly trudging outside. So close. She was so close.

While food was never in short supply thanks to their fishing hobby, fresh water was another matter. Unfortunately, the largest source of water, Dragon Lake, wasn't clean enough for drinking. Which meant that in order to get drinking water, she and Carlos had to make regular trips to the well to fill their tank at home, and this week was Carmen's week.

The problem was, the well wasn't on their property. It was located within the farmland of the Sharance Tree, the community well that everyone drew water from. But it was an annoyingly long walk there, and to get enough water for a week she'd need to make three trips. So she made the slog up to the Sharance Tree and back, putting a cheery look on her face as she walked through town, greeting her fellow townsfolk as she walked by.

"Carmen!"

Carmen turned to see Hazel wave to her. She was walking back from the well herself, two buckets of water slung over her broad shoulders. Although the blonde woman was old enough to be Carmen's mother, she looked like she was only in her twenties. Her green eyes sparkled with an energy that her daughter's lacked, and with how hard she worked Carmen wondered why she even asked Carlos around in the first place.

"Hazel!" Carmen chirped, setting down a bucket and waving at the older woman with her free hand.

"Fetching the water? A hard worker just like your brother," Hazel chuckled. "My Karina could do to learn from you, what's your secret?"

"You say that, but I was just spending most of my morning sitting behind a counter," Carmen laughed. "My brother's the hard worker."

"Hey, don't knock shopkeeping, you know as well as I do that keeping up with things can be difficult," Hazel replied. It was one of their usual conversation points, the two knowing well the toils of keeping books and stocking.

"Tell your brother thanks again," Hazel said as the two parted. "It's always nice to have a young man around to help with the chores when I'm busy tending shop!"

"You need to tell me the secret to getting him to help out sometime," Carmen called back, waving at Hazel one last time before beginning her trek back up to Sharance Tree.

"Have a good afternoon, Carmen!" Hazel called back.

Carmen continued her trek. Spring was starting, and they would need water for the week. Then, and only then, could she get to fishing.

She could picture it now. A picture painted in her mind. Carmen, on the dock and casting her line out into the water, kicking her legs lazily back and forth as she waited for the fish to bite.

Smiles just seemed to come easily to Carmen when she was fishing. She looked out at the beautiful blue water, feeling the calmness of nature wash over her as she smelled the scent of her beloved lake.

The dock… it had been for boats before Carlos had bought it. Now, it was where she fished. She loved fishing. But…

She wasn't sure if this was her dream. It was Carlos's dream, she knew that for sure. He loved fishing as much as she did, but he loved this shop in a way that she just…

She just didn't know. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. She had thought that Carlos's dream… that it was her dream. But… but she didn't know. She'd been working and hoping for so long, and now that she'd had the dream… these past few years…

Maybe Carlos saw something she didn't, but she just didn't feel like working in that shop was everything she wanted out of life. Hazel loved her work, and she put everything into it. Carmen just didn't have that same love for what she did that Hazel did.

Oh, no, she still loved fishing, loved everything about it! But fishing wasn't the same as running a shop, and that part, well…

That part she didn't find fulfilling.

Maybe it was Karen. Everything Hazel did, she did for her daughter. Carlos had told her many times, that all Hazel could talk about was her daughter, that she loved her and wanted the best for her.

Carmen… Carmen didn't have anyone like that in her life. She loved her brother, certainly. But working in the fishing shop for his dream… it wasn't doing it for her the way she thought it would. The way she thought it should.

Carmen sighed.

She didn't know what she was missing, what she was waiting for. Maybe she'd never find it. Fishing brought her enough joy, her brother brought her enough joy, and maybe that was enough. Maybe it was okay that she didn't have many friends in town, that she was just "Carmen the excited positive girl who always loves fishing" and that was enough.

Carmen shook her head, clearing the fantasy out of her mind. There would be time for fishing later. Right now, she had chores, and the tree was almost there. Just a few more trips, and she'd be free. She could feel her heart start to soar. Fishing may not have meant the world to her, but it was certainly one of the things she loved the most.

And maybe someday she could find a way to make that be enough for her.

After all, it wasn't like a purpose in life was going to just walk into town all on its own, she'd have to find it for herself.