Double update, y'all! This is my thanks to you guys for putting up with 1) my slow updating and 2) the slow-ness of the plot. I've been getting a lot of (well, more than usual) reviews complaining about how there's no fluff. I totally sympathize with you. I hate that there's no fluff. It's coming, it's coming! Don't worry. I have intense amounts of notes on this fic and can safely say that there IS fluff in the future.
Anywho, on with the Goddess Festival! (This was originally one big chapter - like 3,000 words - but I decided to make it into two so that I wouldn't disrupt the chapter-length-pattern. I hope that explains the abrupt ending of this chapter and the abrupt beginning of the next!)
CHAPTER STATS
Word Count (excluding A/N): 1542
Date Updated: 10-10-11
Current Review Count: 470
"Okay, from the top, girls!"
A chorus of groans and grumbles rose from the small crowd of young ladies.
Lanna huffed and crossed her arms, pouting at Alisa. "But we've been practicing almost non-stop for the last three days!"
"Yeah," Natalie nodded, stretching her arms in front of her, "and we've been at this for almost two hours already this morning alone."
"The festival is going to start soon and we're not even in costume yet," Julia added, frowning down at her dirty warm-up clothes.
Alisa studied them. "Well, I suppose you guys have the dance down pretty well…"
"Alisa," Lanna smiled, "we've got it perfect. Don't worry about it!"
"Alright," Alisa sighed, an uneasy smile lifting her lips. "Chelsea, do you think you're ready? You're awfully quiet over there."
Chelsea was gazing up into the sky, lost in her own thoughts. She wasn't sure she could do this—there were too many turns, spins, and skips in the routine. She was going to trip. She knew it. And then she'd humiliate herself and ruin the whole festival. Even during rehearsals she couldn't get the routine completely right…
"Chels?" Julia asked, snapping Chelsea back to reality. "You listening?"
"Oh," Chelsea said, kicking the dirt of the ground near Goddess Pond, "I'm sorry—I was just, uh…"
"Spacing out? No surprise there," Julia smirked, elbowing the farmer. "Well, should we all meet back here before the dance, Alisa?"
Alisa looked up, her finger placed thoughtfully on her chin. "How about everyone meets outside the meadow at eleven thirty? Be sure to be in your costumes."
"When do we have to do the dance?" Natalie asked. She clearly wasn't very excited for this festival.
"Yeah—I thought the festival started at ten," Lanna said, tilting her head. "Do we dance later? Or… what?"
"Traditionally, the dance takes place at noon. If everyone gets there half an hour early, we can maybe do some last minute rehearsing outside the meadow," Alisa smiled.
The girls suppressed their groans.
"Alright, you're all free to go! Go get ready—and remember to smile!"
Ooo
Chelsea looked at her reflection as Julia pinned the last flower in her hair. She didn't really recognize herself. Her hair was cleanly tied up in loose curls, her bandana was not on her head, and her face was clean of all dirt—she was even wearing mascara. Mascara! Could you believe it? Of course, she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy getting dolled up. Every girl likes to look pretty once in a while, but it had been so long since she'd had the opportunity that it felt weird.
Julia stood behind Chelsea, adding finishing touches to her own hair. She smiled at Chelsea through the reflection. "You ready?"
"Not really," Chelsea said, the butterflies in her stomach making her feel sick. The dance was bad enough, but looking like this in front of the whole island?
"Why not?" Julia frowned. "You look so pretty!"
"That's the problem," Chelsea sighed, fidgeting with the long, flowy dress all the girls would be wearing. It was the same color as her eyes, as almost all the girls had noted. "I'm going to make a fool of myself, Julia."
"No, you're not," Julia laughed. "Why would you say that?"
"I'm going to trip, or forget the choreography, or just freeze—I know it!" Chelsea exclaimed, waving her arms in a panic. She couldn't do this! "I'm going to ruin the whole festival, and poor Alisa will be crushed—she put so much effort into this whole thing."
"Just focus on the steps," Julia smiled. "You can do it. Even you do make a mistake—hey, you're only human."
"I guess," Chelsea sighed. "But I'm still nervous…"
"Why?" Julia smirked. "Is it because you know a certain cowboy will be there?"
"No," Chelsea said, flushing. She hadn't even thought about the fact that Vaughn would be there. "But that really doesn't help."
"Just relax! You'll do fine."
"But—"
"No buts! It's already eleven fifteen. We'll be late if we stick around here much longer!"
Chelsea sighed as Julia pulled her out the door. This was a disaster waiting to happen.
Ooo
Vaughn walked grudgingly behind Mirabelle on their way to the meadow. Mirabelle had insisted he go to the festival and it wasn't like he was going to be blatantly rude to his boss. Anyone else, sure. But not his boss.
They walked into the meadow and Vaughn fought the urge to roll his eyes. The clearing was all decked out in pastel colors—everything from streamers to balloons to flowers. It was so happy. Sure, it was the Harvest Goddess's birthday, but why did it all have to be so cutesy? He sighed, scanning the crowds of villagers and tourists. Chelsea was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't sure if his heart was dropping in relief or disappointment.
Felicia waved at Mirabelle, who then turned towards Vaughn, saying, "Vaughn, dear, you'll be alright on your own, right?"
Vaughn simply nodded and let the woman go greet her friends. The cowboy sighed again, finding a tree on the edge of the meadow to lean against. He decided it had to be relief he was feeling at Chelsea's absence—after all, he'd spent all of yesterday avoiding her. Not because she'd done anything, but, well, he just didn't want to face her. He grimaced at his boots on the damp grass. He was such a wuss. He was too freaked out at the idea of acknowledging Chelsea's letter to go and talk to her. Although the idea of a birthday present had seemed interesting at first, now he was only nervous. What would it be? What if it was something he hated? Or worse—what if it was something he actually liked? How was he supposed to respond? He wasn't good at the whole "gratitude" thing. He kicked at the ground, ripping up a dandelion. This sucked.
"Alright, everyone! Your attention please!" A loud voice boomed out from the center of the meadow, silencing the hum of the crowd.
Vaughn stopped leaning on the tree and walked closer to the crowd. He'd never been to a Goddess Festival before; was there some sort of main attraction or something?
"To honor the Harvest Goddess on her birthday, we'll be celebrating with the traditional Goddess dance, as preformed by the village's maidens! Everyone, please give them your respectful attention!" The priestly man said, and with a bow, stepped off the small box-like podium.
An airy, happy melody started to play. Vaughn glanced around for its source, but his eyes stopped at the entrance to the meadow. He could hear everyone in the crowd turn their attention towards the bridge as well.
In a straight line, with a young brunette Vaughn had never met before leading, came Lanna, Julia, Natalie, and—his heart thumped when he reached the end—Chelsea.
He almost wanted to laugh at her. She had this look of uncomfortable concentration on her face that was drastically different form the smiles of the other girls. They continued in their line to the center of the clearing. Vaughn was thankful he was tall enough to see from his spot in the back.
As they lined up, the music slowed almost to a stop. He noticed their matching costumes—blue dresses with flowers all thrown in their hair. They looked like they had just rubbed their heads in Felicia's flower garden. He stopped his gaze on Chelsea again, struck by how pretty she looked with her hair fixed and her face all bright and her eyes the same color as the dress. She cleaned up good.
He frowned, surprised at himself—since when did he notice those kinds of things?
The melody picked up, sending the girls into an obviously carefully-rehearsed routine. They walked in a circle, walked the other way, spun—Vaughn found the dance a bit on the dull side, if he was being honest. But Chelsea's expression was priceless—he couldn't stop watching her. Her tongue was even sticking out in concentration. He shook his head slightly at her. A chicken could do this routine, and she was nervous about messing up—he could tell. They continued with their simple dance. Natalie's movements seemed too harsh, Lanna's seemed too exaggerated, Julia's too slow, and Chelsea's too careful. He felt himself smirking—they were horrible.
The music picked up once again, and all the girls broke away for the finale. They all spun and hopped and skipped, falling back into their original lineup one at a time. First the new girl fell into position. She curtsied low and held that pose as the others followed. Next came Lanna, then Julia. Natalie spun over and bowed. Vaughn watched as Chelsea started her spin over to the line. She stopped herself next to Natalie and stumbled slightly—was she dizzy from all the spinning?—and bent over to finish the dance with a bow. Vaughn guessed she was rather dizzy as she managed to lose her balance right at the end—she fell forward when she tried to curtsy, doing a somersault of sorts. The music ended with a flourish as Chelsea scrambled up and curtsied properly.
Continued next chapter!