A/N: Longer wait than usual. My apologies. Life (and Skyrim) calls. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. There's quite a bit of plot advancement that goes on this chapter. :)

Chapter 5: New Opportunities

The following five days, Jill's health improved significantly, and she started to find her way around the valley without a tour guide. She still stayed with Hardy at night and in the morning, but most of the time she was doing odd jobs for Vesta. The first day had been pretty brutal, but Jill had to admire Vesta's skill at breaking in workers. After all, she had done it twice before, and so she knew how to get Jill to work. The policy was pretty much to make the first day torture, so that a worker knows what to expect on bad days, and make the next few days normal, so that she can recover. She ate most meals at the bar or at Vesta's, and earned her keep by sorting vegetables into their respective shipping bins or delivering boxes of seeds and produce around the valley in the morning, and helping to get the fields prepared for Spring in the afternoon. They were usually done with work around three or four in the afternoon, at which point Jill would go to Ruby's for a quick shower and then join a family for dinner. After that, she was given free time to spend with people or visit the spring, as she liked doing.

It was strange actually working in a schedule again. Unlike back at the organization, however, she generally enjoyed the work. Celia was fun to talk to but also knew when to stay quiet, Vesta always gave good advice, and Marlin was handy with most tasks even though he rarely talked, and his cold had improved significantly. Jill gradually met everyone in the valley, and she began putting names to faces she had tried to remember from Celia's tour.

It was the last day of winter when Vesta granted her the day off. There was going to be a party at the beach that evening, and Jill had been invited to hang out at the farm until festivities started later, but there were a few places Jill had wanted to explore, first. Vesta accepted this without much question, and so Jill simply grabbed her rucksack, said goodbye to Hardy, and then headed out the door.

It had certainly started to feel like spring the past few days. Snow no longer covered the ground. Instead, little bunches of grass had started to make the transition from brownish yellow to lush green again. The air was less chilly and more moist, and Jill sometimes had to take her coat off during work to keep from overheating.

She took deep breaths of the clean air and started walking down the path toward the bridge, even though that wasn't where she intended to go. She was actually looking for the path that led to the abandoned farm Celia had told her about the first day. Why, exactly, she wasn't sure, but something about it made Jill interested. Old buildings were generally enchanting to be around. They were also good hiding spots for bad thieves, but Jill didn't worry much about this as she made her way through some overgrown bushes.

That was another thing Jill noticed had changed. Things that normally would've been suspicious had become less frightening in the past week. The valley was already beginning to have an effect on her. Jill couldn't tell if it was the people or the scenery, maybe both. But something about it had a calm, healing air, and not even the too-good-to-be-true, suspicious kind. Everyone was just commonly polite and courteous, if not friendly and accepting.

The path wasn't as long as she had expected it to be. It was only a good twenty feet through some pine trees, and then the foliage thinned to reveal a huge, unnatural clearing. Several buildings beyond repair stood in the field, some so deteriorated Jill could barely make out what they were. The only things that still seemed intact were the stable, the watering hole, and a small chunk of the house. Everything else was beyond repair, probably, Jill noticed, because all of it had been constructed of wood and not stone.

The field itself was also in bad shape. One tall, lonely looking tree stood in the middle that might still bear fruit, but the rest of the trees in the field looked dead. The ground was covered in leaves, weeds, sticks, stones, and long-dead crops, and the air smelled of compost. Still...it wasn't unfixable, and any of the work required to make everything function again would be nothing compared to the hell she had gone through at the organization.

Because, really, not even farm work could be worse than accidentally killing innocent people, being on the run for months, various head wounds, and getting shot in the shoulder, not to mention the mental and emotional stress that no person, especially not someone young like Jill, should have to go through.

As she investigated some of the broken-down buildings more closely, Jill tried to push the idea of cleaning up the farm away, but it kept coming back to bite her. She could help make this valley even better. Hardy had explained to her a few days back that some more money needed to get flowing in their tiny economy, and ever since the farmer had died all those years ago things hadn't been quite the same. The money mostly circulated within the valley and Mineral Town, but without ranch products to take in more money from outside sources, they were all suffering a bit more than comfortable. It was only little things, of course: not enough money for Muffy to buy a new dress, Hardy couldn't always afford top-quality ointments, Vesta didn't have enough to repair her third seed maker...but still. These things mattered to the townspeople, no matter how insignificant, and Jill wanted to help, somehow.

It was a stupid idea, of course. The more attention she drew to herself, the sooner the Pigs would find her. But what if she could be successful? What if she could make herself a brief, comfortable life here? Wasn't it possible that Hawk would just leave her alone?

Jill knew, in some deep part of herself, that Hawk never gave up, but she refused to let this fact dampen her spirits, especially when she walked inside the remaining part of the house.

It was such a cozy little abode. The walls were plywood, like most of the other buildings, and gave it a country feel. A small coffee table stood in the middle of the room, and a bed with faded blue sheets had been shoved into the corner. Other little pieces of furniture here and there tied everything together, and Jill felt herself smile. "It's so...cute!" Jill whispered to herself. She was surprised at her use of the word; she hadn't called something cute in what felt like decades, but it just seemed the right word to use in this situation.

"Pretty nice, isn't it?" A voice said from behind her. Jill whirled around to see a man, probably somewhere in his fifties, standing at the door. The first thing she noticed about him were his eyebrows. They were unnaturally bushy, and yet Jill found herself kind of liking this odd part of him. It gave him character, something that everyone in the valley seemed to have abundant amounts of.

"Yeah," she replied, once her heart continued at its normal thump again. "It's cozy." Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered something about Griffin mentioning a man that still lived on the farm. Apparently, he had been good friends with the past farmer. Or maybe they had been brothers. She couldn't quite remember.

"A little dusty," the man commented, his voice deep and rusty. He ran his hand over the doorframe. "But with some work, it would look fine again."

Jill nodded, and glanced around the room again. She wanted so badly to make a home here. So, so badly. She had nothing, and now all she wanted was something to work for, something to make her feel right, like she could fix everything she had done wrong in the past year or so.

The man was quiet for a few more moments, and then said, "I'm Takakura. A bit of a mouthful, I know. The man who used to work here was my best friend. I promised him...before he passed on...that I'd find him someone young and strong to take care of this farm."

Jill turned to face Takakura, wondering what he was implying. He continued, "No one has really come around in the past few years, though. Mineral Town got a few newbies, but no one stuck around in the valley. I have to make sure I find the right person for the job, for my friend's sake."

He was quiet again after that. About thirty seconds later, he stepped away from the doorframe, and disappeared back to wherever he came from. Jill found it a little weird but also touching that he was acting as the farm's caretaker until someone better came around.

But could that someone better really be her?

She left the farm after that, her head full of muddled thoughts. Maybe it would be a good idea to go to Vesta's after all. That way she could distract herself from other things.

In cliché novels and stuff, she thought, this would be the point where she would turn around and ask Takakura if she could take care of the farm. But that would mean dropping work at Vesta's and having to rely on her own skills to pay Hardy, and everyone else who had helped her, back. She wasn't sure if she could do that yet, but something inside of her chided her to take the farm. To accept it. It was calling her, somehow.

Goddess, she prayed, please help me decide what to do.

Nothing magical happened. She kept praying all the way to Vesta's house for some clear sign, but if she had learned anything it was that the Goddess only showed her the way when she absolutely needed it. So maybe Her ignorance was a sign that, inside, Jill already knew what she had to do.

Or some crazy cheese like that.

Still, she decided, she'd let herself spend a day thinking about it, and come up with an answer in the morning.

• • •

She spent the rest of the afternoon until the festival hanging out at the Spring, visiting with Muffy and Lumina, and then, finally, accepting Vesta's offer to celebrate the New Year a bit with the family. She had found that it was easy to fit in with Vesta, Marlin, and Celia. They were all fun (well, maybe Marlin wasn't really fun), but none of them demanded too much attention from her. She liked that. She was pretty good at giving others attention when they wanted it, for politeness' sake, but she didn't like talking for long periods of time without some time to think and gather her thoughts. At Vesta's, she was given the privilege to do so.

Muffy, on the other hand, had proved to be a little different in that respect, but Jill didn't mind as much as she thought she would. Something about Muffy was special, it made you almost feel the need to tell her everything, from your latest favorite shade of lipstick to your darkest secrets.

Marlin, Celia, Vesta, and Jill spent the afternoon and some of the evening exchanging stories they hadn't told while working yet. Apparently, Marlin had been quite the klutz when he was little. Later they even played a game of Black Jack and Euchre, both of which Jill was extremely good at thanks to working with cheaters in the organization, but she tried to tone her skills down a little for the sake of the others. It wasn't like they were betting anything other than pennies, but still, it wouldn't be fun to win everything.

Around five-fifty, they left to go to the festival at the beach. The atmosphere was very different than what Jill had expected. She didn't realize how much the valley cared about the event, because it had been decorated with festive little flags and flowers, as well as other decorations here and there. A long table set for a good fifty people sat in the middle of the area, and picnic blankets had been spread around for sitting on the sand. Everyone in the valley had come to enjoy the festivities, as well as many unfamiliar faces Jill had never seen before.

Celia and Jill found a spot with Muffy, Lumina, and Nami on a beach blanket by the shore, and used up some time chatting before the festival began. Jill spent the first five minutes taking in all of the people and activity, though, and not really listening to what they were saying.

"So, Lumina," Jill eventually heard Muffy say, "what's going on with you and Rock? Did I hear a rumor that you two are dating?"

All the girls, including Nami, excluding Lumina, giggled. Lumina's face darkened until it looked like she was badly sunburned, and she stuttered, "N-no...I don't know where you'd hear that. We're not dating."

Muffy shrugged her shoulders. She was wearing a dark green dress with a black sweater-ish shrug for the festival. A smile played on her lips. "If you say so. But I swear I heard you two talking by the Goddess Spring the other day, so something must be going on. Spill!"

If Lumina was sunburned before, she was now approximately the shade of a firetruck.

Jill smiled, and found the words leave her lips naturally. "Come on, Lumina. Tell us about the 'secret life of the Forget-Me-Not teenager.'" Everyone laughed, but with those words, Jill felt like a layer of metaphoric skin had been shed, and been replaced with something new and different. She was comfortable enough to joke around again. It felt...nice.

"Well..." Lumina began, licking her lips. "I think he knows I like him...but the feelings aren't quite reciprocated."

"Aren't reciprocated?" Muffy snorted. "I highly doubt that, Lumina. I know a boy in love when I see him."

"Not to mention the doe eyes," Nami added. When the girls gave her quizzical looks, she shrugged, and continued, "Once you've lived around him for a while, you see the doe eyes. He has 'em alright. It's kind of weird, but he doesn't look at other girls like he looks at Lumina."

"He'll come around," Celia said, putting a comforting hand on Lumina's shoulder. "Don't worry." Jill saw something flash through Celia's eyes at that moment. Unreciprocated love...maybe it struck a spark with Celia, too, she thought.

"I think he's just stupid. Seriously. Like, he's too stupid to realize he's madly in love with you. Any moment now, he'll come racing toward you and-"

"Lumina!" a deep yet boyish voice called.

"Speak of the idiot," Nami murmured. Rock was racing down the shore toward them, and he stopped once he reached the blanket, stirring up a bunch of sand around them.

"Hi guys! Uh, girls, I mean," Rock panted. He flipped his platinum hair, and then continued, "Lumina, you should go for a swim with me and Hugh before the festival starts and stuff! We're bored!"

Lumina turned red at the offer, and replied, "Rock, it's too cold to swim. We'll freeze to death. Besides, I didn't even bring a swimsuit..."

Rock's face fell abruptly. "Aw, man," he whined. "I didn't even think about that. I guess you're right..." Then, his eyes lit up once again, and then he said, "Oh, I know! Come build a sandcastle with us!"

Lumina smiled, and looked around at the girls. They all nodded, eager for Lumina to be with her "true love," as they called it. She turned back to Rock, and replied, "Well, okay, I guess I can't refuse that. See you guys later."

Rock broke off at a run toward Hugh once she stood up, and Lumina trailed after him at a fast walk. Once they were out of earshot, Muffy sighed, "Oh, young love."

Nami smirked, and added, "Look who's talking, Miss I-get-a-date-with-a-new-guy-every-week."

Muffy gasped in mock-horror. "Are you calling me a hoe, Nami? I'm appalled!"

The girls giggled, and Nami replied, "Of course not. Besides, you aren't actually sleeping with them...are you?"

Muffy made a gagging face, and then said, "Goddess, of course not. And besides, it's not young love for me. I'm, like, five years older than you guys."

"And yet you act like you're four..."

"Do not!"

"Yes, you do," Nami sighed.

"Do not!"

"See, this is what I mean."

About ten minutes later, they were in the middle of a conversation about favorite springtime activities, when Thomas, the mayor from Mineral Town, called out, "Okay, everyone! The noodles are ready to serve! Come and get some! Please form an orderly line at the beginning of the table, and we'll serve some to you!"

Jill followed the girls to the table. It didn't take long until they had a plate full of noodles and were sitting down. Jill sat in between Muffy and Nami, with Celia in front of her, and Flora, the blond girl from the mine, on Celia's right.

Jill found herself caught in a whir of conversations, laughter, and old stories. The noodles tasted delicious, especially thanks to Vesta's vegetables. Jill realized with pride that this Spring's crop would also be thanks to her own work on the farm, even if it was only a small portion. Something about this made her insides warm: she had created something, cared for something, worked for something, and it would pay off and be good. It wasn't like organization work, where the result was bad and caused problems for others. Creating good was, well, a good thing.

She found this realization simple and yet extremely eye-opening.

The hours passed in a blur of joy and fun, and, for the first time in a while, Jill didn't think about the organization at all. She got to know Flora a little better, who had come off shy, but Jill discovered she was also fairly intelligent. And, of course, she got to know the others better, too, especially Nami, who had apparently spent her time traveling all over before she came to the valley. Jill found this to be pretty neat, since she had always wanted to travel, but had never been able to due to her "employment."

It was around eleven o'clock by the time the party started dying down. After all, there was still the New Year's celebration tomorrow, and so everyone needed their good night's sleep. Celia, Marlin, and Vesta had left with Hardy a while ago, but Jill had wanted to help Mayor Thomas and some other adults clean up as well as chat a bit more with Nami. By the time they were finished it was midnight, but Jill had one more stop to make before she turned in for the evening.

The air had turned cold, but the night was still beautiful as Jill made her way to the Goddess Spring. In contrast to the earlier events, the world was still and quiet again, like it was at dawn every day when she woke up. Except this time, instead of there being the sun, a tiny toenail of the moon hung in the night sky, with the stars around it gleaming just as bright.

She made her way up the path of the Goddess Pond carefully, so not to alert any of the animals sleeping nearby. It was her third or fourth time visiting the spring, so the path had become pretty familiar. Still, she was grateful for the strange but pretty glow of the flowers that lined the path to provide a bit more light to be guided by.

Eventually, she arrived at the pond, and knelt down next to the edge in the cool grass. She closed her eyes, and began to pray very softly.

"I know I've done so much wrong," she murmured. "But I want to fix it. I don't know what I can do, but I want to fix it. I've hurt people all over, people I don't even know, and I've been the reason for the death and casualties of so many, and I want to apologize, and somehow make it up you and everyone else. I just need you to show me how, Goddess. Thanks."

A voice suddenly spoke from behind her. "She won't hear you. The Goddess disappeared about a year ago."

Like prey being hunted, instincts kicked in, and the adrenaline was pulsing through Jill's veins within a heartbeat. She grabbed a tree branch, stood up, and whirled around to face her enemy all at once, only to find that it was Phantom Skye. Her grip on the tree branch still stayed tight, but even Jill had to admit it was hard to take a guy in a leopard print suit seriously.

"Oh, hey, Leopard Boy," she giggled breathily, trying to remain calm. "You scared me."

"Leopard Boy," the thief chuckled. "That's new. I kind of like it. Makes me sound fast, and also feisty. But you should be wearier of a guy like me. After all, I am a dangerous thief."

He took a step closer at that, but Jill didn't back down. Not to mention there was kind of a pond behind her, and if she tried to step back she'd fall in, but still. She tried to act casual and fearless, even if this guy seemed smarter than the rest of the average thieves she had met.

"Sorry," she replied, taking a step forward, "but I find it hard to take a guy seriously when he's wearing a leopard suit."

The thief smirked a bit, and retorted, "It's hard to take a girl seriously when she's holding a tree branch like it's her life line."

"Hey, you're the one who said you're a dangerous thief."

"Right you are, maiden. And yet, by your blush, I can tell you're enchanted by my presence." He took another step forward, and Jill felt her stomach flop. What was he planning...? His approach was so unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

Jill quickly retaliated. "Not really," she said, taking a step toward him, as well. "That's just a strange reflection of the moon you're seeing. But judging by your own blush, I'd say you're enchanted by me."

When Phantom Skye took another step forward, Jill noticed there was a purple gemstone hanging from his neck. She had seen it somewhere before. Lumina's necklace, she realized, and a smile crept across her face. Now she had an idea.

"Men don't blush," Skye chuckled, "but nice try."

He was only about a foot away when Jill said, "I never said you were a man."

He took a step closer. "Would you like to find out?"

Jill made it appear as if she was going to wrap her arms around his neck to kiss him, but instead she grabbed his shoulders and, with a strong push, shoved him to the ground. Within a split second he had caught on to her game, and he rolled over, slipping out from her grip. She was two steps ahead, though, and caught his foot with her leg, causing him to trip back on the ground.

She rolled, quickly pinned him to the ground by sitting on top of his waist, and then proceeded to use the tree branch she still had to help hold his arms above his head by pressing the most solid part of the circumference against his wrists. He wriggled under her for about two seconds, and then realized it was helpless. She had won the skirmish.

"I'm impressed," he said breathlessly, "though I can't decide if you're trying to have a steamy osculating session or kill me."

"Neither," she replied, just as breathless. "I'm not a monster. I just want Lumina's necklace back."

"Take it, then," Skye said. "It's rightfully yours. You beat me."

Jill took one hand off of the tree branch, reached under Skye's neck, and unfastened the necklace quickly. She then tried to put it in her pocket carefully, but it was kind of hard to do while she was still sitting on the thief.

Jill tried to ignore the fact that she was probably in a really awkward position on top of him as she assessed his face and reactions. He was surprisingly limp; not a bit of him was tense. He didn't even seem to want to fight back.

He suddenly chuckled. "Don't let your face betray your true intentions, my dear. I'm not fighting back because I already have what I want. Therefore, I need nothing more."

This caught Jill off guard. She loosened her grip on his hands a little, and then asked, "What do you mean?"

"You said you're no monster," Skye explained quietly. "But judging by your reactions and skills in our little scuffle, you've scouted your way around the dark side, too."

Jill let him go and abruptly stood up. Fire flared inside of her stomach as she replied, "I don't know what you're talking about." In her head, though, was one resounding word: shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot...

Rule number one in her book: never give a future opponent the chance to assess your skills if you don't have to. Especially if that happens to give away the fact that you once worked for the Organization.

Still, she had no proof Skye was even associated with the Organization. But that didn't mean he wasn't still extremely dangerous.

The thief stood up slowly and gracefully, and said, "Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you're smarter than the rest. We have something in common there. You don't belong in a guild, just like me. We're much better than them, but also more...innocent, I suppose."

"Seriously," Jill said. "That was lucky. I just wanted to help Lumina get her necklace back."

"Whatever you say, maiden," Skye replied. "We'll meet again, though. Just like last time, it's written in the stars."

Jill huffed and started walking away from him. She was done with his silly games. She wouldn't let him jeopardize her new possible life in the valley. Besides, he didn't seem like the Pigs. He was separate. Some feeling inside of her said that he was...well, not quite trustworthy, but not corrupt, either. Just neutral. And so she was done here.

"I was serious about the Goddess, though," he called. This made Jill stop. She looked over her shoulder to see him almost sad looking. "She's been sad since that old farmer died, and the last new guy stopped taking care of the land a year ago. He only stayed for about a season, and then Takakura told him he wasn't right for the job. The Goddess was heartbroken. The villagers in this town don't know how to summon her, but I do. The summoning hasn't worked since then, though. I've been looking for ways to bring her back, but the only thing I can think of is to give the farm some tender loving care, and maybe persuade her, somehow, to come home."

Jill took this in, something within her flaring up again: a mix of sadness and optimism. She then nodded slightly, and started walking away again, her heart pounding for some odd reason.

"We'll meet again, beautiful," Skye called, a touch of smugness in his voice. "Maybe next time you'll take me up on that osculating?"

"Thanks for the offer, but, believe it or not, I do have morals," Jill called back. She started jogging away from the spring. It was already past midnight, but something inside of her had clicked.

The Goddess was sad. Jill wanted to make things right in her life. Skye was right. If the farm was the reason She left in the first place, then the farm would be the reason she came back. Fix the farm, bring back the Goddess. If Jill could make the Goddess happy, would She forgive her for her wrongs?

She could do it. How hard could farming be, right? Plant a few seeds, raise some cattle, care for living things. Feel good when you bring in the crops and animal products. She could do it for sure.

She was pretty much sprinting to the farm at this point. Takakura would still be awake. He had to be. And Hardy would understand. So would Vesta. Now she'd be able to pay them off on her own, too. She didn't have to let them take care of her. Independence. She liked the sound of that.

Her chest was heaving by the time she reached the cozy little log cabin that Takakura lived in. The lights were still on, and she breathed a sigh of relief. He was awake. Good. She wanted to do this now. She had lived her life always either planning, or simply going on raw instincts. She was now going to do something impulsive, but something she was fairly sure she could handle.

So when Takakura opened the door a split second after she knocked, she didn't think twice before blurting, "I want to take over the farm."