Quest for the Blue Feather

Summary: Jill contemplates her marriage choices: "I Have to do WHAT?!" Jill exclaimed in disbelief, "You people must be mad!"

A/N: I'm honestly rather surprised with myself; I've been writing a great deal of humor stories ever since my school's exam period started… I usually have a tendency to write purely serious stories…

I started to write this when I recalled that I never actually got married in my Magical Melody game, and that I haven't touched the game for quite some time, because I had about 6 potential husband characters lined up at my door, and I felt horrible and just couldn't choose between them. Also, as another note, no, my Harvest Moon Character isn't named "Jill". I just tend to use that as a generic fill in name in my Harvest Moon stories. :)

"Well, its come to my attention that you're about ready to settle down Jill!" the mayor exclaimed, boisterously clapping the young farmer girl on the shoulder.

"Ehhhh… Sure." Was the unsure reply. How had the Mayor know about her suitors? Was he stalking her or something? Well, in any case, Jill wasn't sure at all that she was ready for such a commitment as marriage. After all, she hadn't even been in the little town an full year, and people were already bugging her about marriage? Sheesh! These people sure did rush things…

"Yes, yes, that's very good." The mayor told her joyfully, his arm still not having moved from her shoulder, annoying Jill to know end, "In any case, it has come to my attention that a bluebird has been spotted on the top of the mountain!"

Jill quirked an eyebrow, "…So?" she asked, causing the Mayor to look at her with such surprise that it took her off guard for a moment.

"SO?!" he exclaimed, "SO?! A blue bird means a blue feather," He told her matter-of-factly, "and here in Flower Bud, giving a blue feather to someone we care about is our way of proposing." Jill started coughing rather violently at this, but obviously only to cover up the laughter that threatened to bubble up.

"You propose with a feather here?!" She asked incredulously, shaking her head, "But you can't wear a feather around your finger! Plus it sounds like a sort of cheap alternative to a ring. Isn't it well… lame? I mean, you can just pluck a feather from some bird and then its done!"

"It isn't as simple as that!" the mayor explained, "After all, it must be a blue feather from a blue bird that tends to only live in high places, namely, our town's little mountain…so to get the feather, you have to climb to the to the top of-"

"I Have to do WHAT?!" Jill exclaimed in disbelief, "You people must be mad! It could be nearly suicidal to endeavor in scaling that moutain! Plus, aren't there a great number of rock slides on that mountain?"

"But of course!" Mayor Theodore told he cheerfully, causing Jill to look utterly gobsmacked.

"But that's dangerous!"

"Of course it is!" Theodore replied, looking slightly offended by Jill's outburst, "If it weren't dangerous, it wouldn't mean anything, now would it? Now get up that mountain and get that feather!"

"I can not believe I'm doing this." Jill grumbled nearly an hour later as she lifted her foot in an attempt to find another foot hold on the cliff side that would lead her to the blue bird's nest. After a great deal of prodding and insisting, Jill had finally consented to the Mayor's wish, and had gone to go and retrieve the feather from the mountaintop.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, shifting over to the side quickly to avoid being hit by a falling bolder, "What am I doing here? This is suicidal!" she muttered, reaching her hand out up high above her head for the next piece of rock that looked sturdy enough to hold her, "And really, what am I going to do with that blue feather anyway…?" Jill paused in her ascent at this thought; whom was this blue feather going to be for anyway? Which bachelor of Flower Bud Village was for her anyway?

'What about Joe?' a voice in her head that sounded too much like the Mayor for her liking, asked, 'He's such a nice boy, and he does like you!'

"Joe?" she chuckled, "He's sweet, really he is, but… he's honestly just so cheery all the time, and while its good to be happy, to be THAT happy ALL the time…?"

'Well, how about Kurt?'

"He's the exact opposite!" she hissed, shifting to the left a bit on the mountainside to avoid another falling boulder, "He's always so cold and anti-social! Both Joe and Kurt are two extremes on the spectrum, and I just don't think I'd be able to handle it for long…"

'How about Alex? He's always worrying after you…'

"That's just it," Jill fumed, "he's always worrying about me! That's all he does! It's sweet that he's worried about me, but… all the time?"

'Fine; how about Ray?'

"The girl-phobic fish lover? He's just so awkward all the time, and he always blushes and heads the other way when I head towards him… plus, I don't like fish that much!"

'Well, how about Basil then?'

"Same thing with him; I don't like plants enough to live with a plant fanatic."

'What about Louis?'

"Haven't you been listening? He's another one of those obsessive guys; the only thing different is that he obsesses over machinery rather then fish or plants."

'…Dan?' the voice questioned, starting to sound slightly exasperated.

"You'd have me marry that flirt? He loves gamboling, alcohol, and woman; does that sound like a man that is willing to settle down and make a commitment?" Jill grumbled, starting to grow annoyed herself.

'CARL?'

"No-"

'What's wrong with Carl?' the voice asked, 'He's nice. What fault could you find in Carl?'

"Well, yes, I know he's nice, but that's just it! He's really sweet and kind, and I love him, I really do… but in a little brother sort of way, you know? He just looks so young…"

'How about Blue? Or Bob? Surely one of them!'

"Blue and Bob?" Jill made a face, "Blue reminds me of Kurt: too anti-social, and Bob… well, he's a bit overwhelming, and Tim calls me "big sister" as if we were related, so it would be a bit… awkward to say the least."

'Jamie!" the voice exclaimed as a last resort, 'He's the only one left!'

"JAMIE?!" Jill retorted, "I think he'd rather marry his cow then marry me! Plus… I'm not entirely sure he's a he…"

'So why are you climbing this mountain?' the voice asked helplessly.

"Yes…" Jill mused, starting to climb down the mountain, "Why indeed…"

The next morning when Jamie decided to be a nice guy for once, and say a simple gruff "Hello" to his farming rival, he was at a loss as to why the girl responded by exclaiming, "You're all crazy, the lot of you! You'll never take me alive! I'm going to be single for the rest of my life!" before running away.

Jamie shook his head and muttered something about "women being crazy" under his breath as he continued to tend to his crops.

A/N: Just for the record, I really do love all the HM guys…but due to their different eccentricities, they are rather fun to poke fun at on occasion though. :)

And as always, I simply adore getting reviews, and they really do help motivate me to write. Till next time!

-pyrofreeze