A/N: Hola. I'm back. Thank you to all that reviewed, subscribed, and favored! It encourages me to continue. Sorry it took me so long. Vacation and all is tiring. So, on word~
Oh and just a little FYI I'm making Joy's full first name pronounced (Jo-Lyn). And I made a mistake last chapter. Griffin is 35 and Muffy is 30. Just throwing that out there.
"You wanna take a break now?" Takaurtura asked as he dabbed his perspiration forehead with a cloth.
"No… I'm okay. Let's just finish up for the day." I said taking a large intake of air. Farming was hard work. I remember seeing my father carefully plant and care for the seeds with such ease. It was frustrating to have such difficulty with such a seemly easy task.
"I'm impressed, Joy. You seem to be getting the hang of it faster than I had ever hoped. Now, as you improve, I some day hope to retire…" He stared almost nervously.
"Of course." I said slightly uneasy. Oh crap. I'm on my own here.
"… But I'll help you out until you totally get the swing of it. M'kay?" He stated. I sighed in relief and nodded.
I have been in town for quite a few weeks already. I was doing a great job with finances and growing crops. I ordered some chickens a few days ago, and now I had a beautiful horse I named Cain. Life was going good for me. I had my wonderful friends and started to feel at home.
"Well. I think we're good fur the day. See ya later Joy." Taka said brushing off his shirt. I gave him a small smile and nod and he disappeared into his home. The second the door slammed shut I let out a cheer.
"Yay! I'm done for the day!" I did a little dance only to be stared at strangely by my dog. I giggled and ran into my house to start dinner.
"It's been a long day. Sun up to sun down farming with a few breaks for meals and socializing. I'm beat." I declared out loud. I stared out the window and sighed. "I wanted to go take a quick dip in the hot springs… but it's getting late." The sun was just starting to genially kiss the earth as it left a soft warm orange glow across the valley.
"How can there be villains and thief's in a town like this. It's so quiet and peaceful." Yes. I was still obsessing over that little "encounter" with Skye… I mean the phantom thief. I just don't understand how the town considers him a nuisance, instead of a criminal. He's just so… Ugh! Scary! Well… not scary, but it's frightening to know that a smooth talking flirt like him could easily hurt you. And—Holy dancing crawfish I'm going to burn my curry!
I giggled slightly at my stupid internal ranting and returned back to my yellow curry. I was a pretty good chef if I do say so myself. Well, I had to be. My mom could not cook to save her life.
It finally was finally finished, so I carefully took it out of the pot and put it on a plate. I poured a little bit of wine in a glass and was all set to have a nice dinner alone. Wow, that's kind of sad if you think about it. Here I am, the prime of my life, alone and inwardly ranting.
"I'm going through a hard time in my life. It'll pass." And with that, I finished eating and cleared the table.
I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a towel and a pair of flip- flops. I was going to confront my fear of going out late at night, go to the hot springs and have a relaxing swim. My back was aching from bending over and down to plant and water the past few days, I know I needed this.
I exited my door and shivered slightly. The cool mid spring air engulfed me as the sounds of nighttime critters cooed. I glance up at the stars and smiled. The moon was a small sliver in the sky and it illuminated my way to the hot springs.
I took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of crystals and wet wood. Flora and I discovered this hot springs when we were younger. Her being the ever so excited child that she was, she thought when she found the instructions to find the spring, and she thought it was a treasure map. And me being the crazy child that I was, I ran alongside her and helped her dig it out with the help of my dad's tools.
I wrapped the dry towel around me as I stripped and stepped into the water and left the towel nearly beside me. I sighed contently as the warm water covered me fully. I smiled and shut my eyes slightly as I felt myself relax fully.
Just then, I heard a soft whistling sound and shrugged, yet my heart started racing. Man, why am I always so jumpy? I shut my eyes again and tried to relax again, but the sound only increased in volume.
"A-Anyone there?" I called out. The whistling stopped abruptly as did my heartbeat. "Hello?" I called out again.
"Great…" I heard a voice waver very close by.
"Oh come on! I don't bite. I just wanna know who's at the door." I said boldly. It was true, though. I wouldn't be able to relax until I knew who it was. I accepted the fact that it might be Skye. It made sense actually; he only came to the valley at night according to Lumina.
"Oh. I didn't know someone was here. I'll come again some other time…" The voice said softly behind the door.
"No, It's fine. I was getting out anyways." I sighed too tired to figure out whom the voice belonged to. It was soft, but might have been male.
"Okay." I turned the doorknob and stood in the threshold, towel around my hips.
"Hello?" I called out. Silence. "Um… I'm decent?" I offered to whom ever I was talking to before. I had a bathing suit on and damn it; it was a nice one too! I sighed thinking they probably ran off. The warm water had drained me of my energy so I couldn't be bothered to over analyze that now.
I gathered my things and was off. I walked home content knowing that I had confronted my fear of going out at night.
"Go for a dip Angel?" An eerily fimiliar silky smooth voice cooed. I spun around and saw the Phantom Thief leaning up against nearby a tree and staring at me through half lidded eyes. He pulled his hand through his natural sliver hair absentmindidly and smiled.
"… Yes?" I said due to lack of words to say. He chuckled and approached me. I stood still with a calm expression on my face. Within a second, I was under his spell.
"No need to be afraid. I won't hurt you." He said in a low voice and giving me a reassuring smile.
"I'm not afraid." I said childishly. He chuckled again.
"Good. There is no need. I swear to you that I shall never did nor ever hurt anyone… Especially beautiful woman with tragic pasts'." He said smirking slightly at my flush.
"H-Hey! How do you know anything about me?" I asked. He smirked bigger.
"Oh, I may not live here, but I do here a thing or two." He said brushing the question off.
"Like what?" I pushed airily. His teal eyes widened for a moment, then he gazed at me thoughtfully.
"I heard that you had a big heart, wanted to take over the old farm, and had interesting hair and eyes." He said never taking his gaze off me.
"Impressive. Where did you hear that?" I asked him.
"Ah. My dear asks too many questions. But I shall tell you this: We shall meet again." He said in a tone in a mix between a statement and a question. Not a demand.
"Okay." I said shivering slightly as a cold wind blew across the sky.
"Oh! How inconsiderate of me. Letting a beautiful maiden shiver to death in a short towel and bathing suit, while I drone on." He said with a kind look on his face.
"No. It's fine. I… enjoyed talking to you, Skye." I said offering him a small smile. He beamed.
"Wonderful. Just wonderful. You see, I mean no harm. You need to relax more. Good thing you went for a swim then." He said winking slightly. I nodded.
"Ah. I am pressed for time though… Good night… Joy." He said with a gentle tone.
"Good night Skye." And with that, I returned to my house. I did my nightly rituals and climbed into bed.
"Maybe going out late isn't as scary as I thought." And with that, I fell into a dreamless sleep. Only to stir a little bit as realization hit me. "Did he just tell me I had strange hair?" I shrugged and fell back asleep.
Little did I know what was in store for me the next few weeks…
A/N: Okay! A little short, I know. But they can't all be huge, amirite? Anyways, I hope you enjoy. Flames and crictism are welcome. Very few characters in this chapter… Oh well. I really hope you enjoyed. Reviews make me happy!