Molly smelt something funny. Almost like coffee beans and a menagerie of fruits. She felt tired and her eyelids were heavy. Was it 6am already? She just didn't want to open her eyes...
"...Wake up." she heard a faint voice say.
That voice sounded familiar. Almost soothing. As if it belonged in a dream she didn't want to wake up from. Not the naughty ones, just the oddly comforting ones that took her away from Finn and the farm to whisk her away to some foreign, fantasy land for a little while.
"You need to...wake up now."
Well, usually odd, disembodied voices didn't steer her wrong. The farmer began the labourous process of cracking open her eyelids.
The light was oddly dim; however, her eyes still had troubles focusing on the bleary shapes. She blinked harder, attempting to focus.
One shape was purple. The other wasn't distinguishable as much other than something shiny.
Then, all at once, it hit her. A pulsing headache that seemed to bring everything back into focus.
"You...aren't very smart, are you...?" The purple shape morphed into the features of the Castanet Wizard.
Ick. This was awkward. Where was she? What had happened?
Wait, who was he calling dumb!
"...This is why I don't give you stuff." Molly maneuvered herself into a sitting position and spotted Finn looking worried and floating just beside the Wizard.
Her breath hitched just a little bit. This wasn't her farmhouse or her bed for that matter! What was he trying to pull! Dastardly, devious, sneaky wizards and their...stuff...that they do!
The Wizard regarded her a little warily.
"Do you..." he faltered, "Remember anything...?"
Why was he acting so dense? She was just having a little rainy day nap at the Witch's hut!
"What do you mean 'remember anything'? I was just taking a nap and then suddenly I'm here with you. You explain that! Did you do something to the Witch? I knew those Fugue mushrooms were bad things to keep bringing you two! Now I'm part of some crazy magical drug cartel and you're using me for...for...some crazy wizard bondage!" Molly shook her fist in Wizard's general direction with as much vigor as she could manage with her splitting headache.
The Wizard was equal parts confused and perturbed by Molly's actions. In other words, it was nothing out of the ordinary, really.
"Wizard...bondage?" he paused and gave Molly a funny look. "No. That mushroom you gave the Witch...Was more potent. She used it...in a magical recipe...I don't know...what she wanted to accomplish."
Molly couldn't fathom it. She didn't even remember eating anything or having a spell placed on her!
"Then how come I don't remember it! A-And how come I'm sitting here," Molly looked around at the foreign purple bedding around her. "In what I'm guessing is your bed!"
Finn looked like he desperately wanted to tell her something, but was restraining himself.
The Wizard closed his eyes and proceeded to rub them, an act that was probably an attempt to compose himself. Come to think of it, Molly had never heard him speak this much in, well, ever.
"The Witch has...done this before. I thought that...this might happen...I came to check...to make sure. And found you. The Witch...never learns."
Molly remained skeptical. He still might have molested her after all!
...Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
"That still doesn't explain why I'm here."
"We carried you...I made a remedy...It was easier to do it...here..."
Molly frowned. The pieces were slowly starting to come together.
"And she just left?"
Wizard nodded. Molly felt kinda betrayed, but she had to admit that even she should have known better.
"We do not...get along. She felt...obligated...The Witch is not used to...humans."
"That still doesn't explain why you would help me. I mean, I haven't really been all that nice to you." the farmer tried her best not to feel bad, he did do her another big favour after all!
"You...have been an asset to...this land. I know...how hard you work. It would be...a shame for the Witch...to ruin that." The Wizard attempted a smile.
Molly grasped at the blankets. "I don't know about the whole 'working hard' thing but, um, thanks, I guess."
So maybe he wasn't so bad. Sure, he was about as interesting as a brick wall, but he had some good points after all. Needless to say, no matter how obligated the Witch felt to help bring her back, feeding her magical zappy juice through the form of a tasty treat was not something she could just forgive!
Ow! There was that terrible pounding in her head again. Well, if he cured whatever the Witch Princess did to her, maybe the Wizard had something for this splitting pain too.
"So, about this terrible headache I'm getting..." Molly began, hoping he would catch her drift.
He appeared to think deeply about it.
"...Aspirin?" he finally replied, looking amused at the farmer.
"I thought you'd be more into, you know, herbal stuff." If Molly had it in her to face palm, there would have been no time more opportune.
The Wizard merely shrugged and handed her a bottle.
Under the advisement of the Wizard, Molly had decided that it was probably in her best interests to visit Jin about the horrendous headache and residual feelings of nausea. However, even she had to admit it sounded a bit suspicious. Still, it was always good to get these things sorted out and she didn't even complain when Irene pricked her for the precautionary blood work.
The farmer also had to admit that the wait times to see the doctor were better here than in the city. Even if she only had the choice of one doctor.
"You just fainted and you say you've never fainted before in your life? You've also had feelings of nausea, in addition to your current headache? The last time I encountered this, the aforementioned patient later found out she was expecting. Now, I'm not saying this is the case, however, Molly, have you considered this possibility?" Dr. Jin regarded her stoically from his seat.
Molly resisted the urge to simultaneously laugh and wail him in the face at the implication. Nevertheless, she had kind of left out the details about the Witch and the Fugue mushroom and it wasn't as if she really told the villagers much about herself, let alone the doctor. He had only showed up a few weeks ago anyway!
"Well, unless Hamilton has been sneaking inside for more than just telling me about the festivals, no."
"It could have been multiple other reasons. Have you been eating and drinking? There is not always a clear-cut reason. We will however have the lab go over the blood work. If it happens again, do not hesitate to come back and see me. "
Lab? The dinky little clinic had one of those? Molly did not care enough to pursue it further. She doubted she would really understand any answers anyway.
"...As for the headache," Jin pressed on. "Perhaps try some over the counter medication. Again, if it continues to become unbearable, I will also make house calls. We are merely a phone call away."
"Okay!" Molly staggered off the bed she was perched on. "Um, thank you Dr. Jin."
The farmer made her way towards the door that led back to the waiting room. After all that, she was just up some awkward conversations and told the same thing that the Wizard told her. Darn. Nothing seemed to be coming up Molly today!
"And Molly?" Molly glanced back at Jin, her hand lingering above the doorknob. "Perhaps changing your door lock may be in order."
Molly's first task upon arriving home was to check on her crops and her cow. Surprisingly, it was still only mid afternoon. It felt like it had at least been a couple days! The day was once again rainy, so she need not have really worried about the crops and her cow was only a little miffed about receiving its daily fodder a few hours later than the regular schedule.
Her head still hurt though. Luckily, there were drugs for that. Lots of them. Finn was even mad enough to take a break from talking to her. Overall, she had the makings of a great afternoon! Therefore, she did what she usually did on boring rainy afternoons that didn't involve being knocked out by crazy magical entities: make tea.
And invite Anissa over. By way of ordering crop seeds and promptly forcing her in when she attempted to drop them off at Molly's farm. Hooray! Now she only needed to extract her hopes and dreams and tell them to a funny painting at the church!
"...And that's how I found Gill and Luna..." Molly made some questionable hand gestures.
"Mm, I've been wondering Molly..." Anissa interrupted, before trailing off in hopes that Molly would lose interest in her current subject.
"Oh yeah?" Molly replied. Some people just couldn't handle good gossip! Couldn't Anissa tell she was trying to endear herself by way of planting a little small town rumor and seeing how far it would get?
"I've been meaning to ask why you came to this area. Pardon me for saying, but you still don't seem like the farming type..."
Molly shrugged. "I got knocked up and dropped out of college."
"W-What?"
"The cost of living is cheaper and I hate large towns. I get bored when every day is exactly the same. My grandpa was a farmer, so it's not as if I'm as unfamiliar with it as I seem. My cousin got his farm though. She always was the favourite. It was probably because of that incident with the cows and the beehive..."
"I-I see." Anissa looked a little troubled.
Molly failed to see why.
Needless to say, Anissa finished her tea rather quickly and politely declined any further doses before excusing herself to return home for dinner. The nerve! She hadn't even gotten to the point where she was able to get any good dirt on her and Jin, let alone an entire wish!
She just wanted to save the land! Freaking people making it difficult because...stuff.
Molly made her way back over to her windowsill and proceeded to think deep thoughts. Mostly about food, but some other thoughts were deep too! Well, that might have been a bit of a stretch.
Finn lazily emerged from whatever nook he'd been sulking in to protest a little closer to her face.
"...I'm hungry, Molly." The sprite began to wring his hands in a pouty manner.
Molly watched the rain pound outside as the surrounding area began to grow dark.
"Oh, I guess the fridge is still empty. Want to go to Fugue Forest?"
Finn cried.