Thanks for getting this far into the story, please R&R

Chapter 8: The Music Festival, Caught

Dante awoke rubbing his eyes and whistling to Fable for her to come to him. Fable patted along towards the side of the bed, she was getting bigger. He patted Fable and got up, the pup insisted on him going outside, he hadn't realised the time, it was 10am; he must have overslept with a fever. He got dressed and went outside, outside Karen was waiting for him, when she realised he had emerged from the farmhouse she went and trapped him in a hug. He hugged her back and let the moment drag on for as long as possible. To his disappointment she pulled away and looked at him with a 'You forgot, didn't you' look on her face as she planted her fists on her hips.

He just smiled at her and waited for her to tell him what he had forgot.

"The Music Festival is today Dante, we have to be there and ready at 6pm, you forgot didn't you" She said coolly.

"Yeah, I guess I kinda did" Said Dante running his fingers through his hair with embarrassment.

"Well just you don't forget to be there at 6pm, ok?" She said to him insistently with a warm smile on her face.

"I'll be there don't you worry about it, I wouldn't miss your singing for the world" He said to her affectionately.

"Well just so that you don't forget, I'll be staying with you until 6pm, then you can escort me to the Festival, Deal" She said in a tone that suggested she would have her way no matter what.

"Deal" He said, and she sat herself by the fishpond under the shade of the tree in his farm.

"You have no fish?" She said worriedly, she seemed astounded as the fact and she rushed off the farm in a hurry, Fable at her heels.

Dante let them go, she would be back at 6pm. He began doing his chores around the farm, De-weeding, cutting wood, making repairs to the barn houses and the chicken houses. Dante began to map out a plan for an extension on his house when Karen came rushing into the farm as quickly as she had gone, holding a bag in her hands. She grabbed his arm on her way and led him to the fishpond.

"These are my fish that I caught at the beach, they are great pets and are going to grow very big and strong, make sure you feed them for me, they will be happy in this big pond you have. If you feed them right they will breed more fish and the pond will be overrun with Fish" She said hurriedly and informatively.

"Thank you" Dante said quite shocked at the fact that she brought him some fish for his pond, she was turning out to have a greater heart than he had first thought.

Karen put the fish carefully into the pond and watched them swim around while Dante continued to plan out the extension to his house. Karen appeared to be a little bored with the fish at the moment and went inside the farmhouse. Dante had no idea why she was going in there or what she was looking for but he said through the window that he was going out for the moment. She told him she would keep an eye on things and that Fable would keep her company while she finished in there. She also said that she was going out and coming back for a while so he shouldn't worry if he gets back and she isn't there.

Dante went to Gotz the woodcutter's house and showed the woodcutter his plans for the extension. The woodcutter told him they would work well and that the woodcutter himself would help if he had the wood and the money. Dante handed over the money he had earned on the farm from his produce and Gotz said he would be over the next day to start building the house with him. The extension would include a kitchen, cabinet, another bed cramped in and an enlarged table suite. There was another extension that could be performed after they had done this one but that would cost too much money at the moment.

Dante went back to the farm and strode towards the farmhouse, Karen would be so pleased that his home was becoming larger, she would. When he got inside Karen was inside, she had made a bookshelf and had filled it with books presumedly from the library. She had sanded and painted the shelves and had also painted the toolbox. He now had a table vase centrepiece. The house had also been swept, dusted and washed. Karen was just about to pick up the broom and sweep again when she realised Dante standing in the doorway.

"I cleaned up a little, the house needed a few touch ups, it need to be bigger too, you can't have any guests here if you have a house this small" Said Karen matter-of-factly. This was the perfect opportunity o tell her about the house being extended.

"Well I'm glad you think that because I am going to have the house extended starting tomorrow, it should be finished in about three days" Said Dante smile beaming on his face.

Karen trapped him in another one of her affectionate hugs, and he kissed her head as she snuggled into his chest. She insisted that they be on their way to the church, the festival as going to start soon. It got Dante to thinking that he was lucky to have caught Gotz today, he wasn't open on holidays. But there were some nice people in the little corner of the globe and perhaps Gotz was one of them.

Karen, Fable and Dante reached the church in time and got ready to perform. They performed brilliantly, Karen sung like an angel, Ann and Ellie played their flutes perfectly, May played the piano like an expert and Dante played the ocarina with all the expertise he could conjure up. The festival went well and when it was done Dante escorted Karen home, except she did not want to go to her house, she wanted to go to his.

When they reached the house she kissed him on the lips vigorously and talked him down onto the ground. They rolled around in the pasture fighting to be the one on top of the other, fighting to prove who was top dog. All innocent play with Karen screaming and laughing and Dante laughing with her. All of this was a sight for her Dad who had come looking for her.

"Karen, get away from him, you, get off her" He yelled louder than humanly possible for a man his size. Arms waving and spittle forming in his mouth, he looked a great deal like Rick when he was mad.

Dante clambered off Karen and she got up slowly, she did not look a great deal ready to jump to her father's words. Her father came and grabbed her arm and dragged her off, she did not try to make him let go though, there was nothing she could do, it was her father, he deserved at least that much. Dante watched helplessly, he could have tackled the man easily, but that would get him and Karen nowhere. Instead Dante watched the scene go on down the street as Karen waved good-bye before turning to walk with her father back to their home.

Dante went inside, half furious that he could not stop the scene, half furious that tomorrow he would get grief from the villagers, and better yet, he wouldn't be able to see Karen again, it made him knot up inside. At least Rick had gone on vacation after the chicken incident, Rick would not be there to torment and be the 'Knight in shinning armour' to take care of and love Karen like her father wanted him to.

Dante wrote it all down in his diary and went to sleep. Things were going to change around here; he could feel it in the breeze.