Chapter 9: Preparations

A week passed. Life in the valley steadily became easier and even more enjoyable, and Jill found herself loving every minute of it. It was so easy for the people of the valley to take the serenity they had for granted, but she was able to look around at her surroundings and list off hundreds of things she was grateful for.

The weather was perfect as she walked on the path away from her farm and toward the main part of town. The sun, a big, intense orb of optimism, floated high in the noontime sky. Not a cloud was in sight. It truly was a Forget-Me-Not day.

Jill was headed toward the Inn. It was the thirteenth of spring, and she wanted to finally meet this Van guy. She had been digging at the waterfall sight for a few days straight but hadn't been able to sell anything to him on the eighth because she had dedicated the entire day to her new friends and a minimal amount of farm work. Now she was expecting a huge profit, especially if what Carter and Flora said was true. Three thousand per jewelry item was a lot of money, and Jill had at least twenty jewelry pieces. That totaled up to sixty thousand dollars, an amount that would certainly be put toward the improvement of her farm and the valley conditions, along with the well being of the Harvest Goddess. The livelier the farm and town, the more chance the Goddess had of not only contacting Jill again, but having enough power to get herself out of the other dimension.

A little bell rang when Jill opened the door of the Inn. Ruby, who was standing at the counter, looked up and smiled. The two had become fairly good friends because Jill usually came to shower at the Inn once a day (unless she was feeling particularly dirty in the morning, then it was twice), thus giving them a chance to converse for a few minutes every evening.

"Hi, Pony," she greeted warmly. "What can I do for you? You look pretty clean."

Jill smiled, and replied, "Actually, I was wondering where Van is. I mean...he is here, right?"

Ruby's face lit up. "Oh, yes! He's upstairs, a passage after Nami's room at the very end of the hall. You'll see him as soon as you turn the corner." She lowered her voice, and continued, "And if you're especially good with words, Pony, you might be able to get a few extra gold pieces out of him. Just keep that in mind, dear. Good luck."

"Thanks, Ruby," Jill said, and nodded at her. Then, she proceeded to half-walk, half-skip up the stairway to the left of the main entrance. She had only been to the second floor once or twice before, once to see Nami, and another time to do Ruby a favor by waking up Rock, who had slept in until noon. He had been shirtless, but had also been sleeping with a pink teddy bear. To say the least, it was an interesting experience for Jill, as he was exemplifying a strange combination of manhood and, well, baby.

Once she turned the corner of the second hallway, she saw Van. He was a big man, both wide and tall, much bigger than Jill had expected, and was dressed in a red European outfit with blue pants and suspenders. He wore tiny black-framed spectacles, and there had been so much wax applied to his black mustache that it almost sparkled in the light of the hallway.

Despite his amusing appearance, Jill felt somewhat uneasy. Something about his demeanor suggested differently than his friendly clothing. And why was he so tucked away like this?

Still, she figured there was no turning back now. He had seen her, she couldn't just say "oops, sorry" and turn around. That would be super awkward, andshe needed the money.

So, Jill pushed her doubt down to the very bottom of her stomach, and walked down the hallway. Van looked up at her and smiled hugely. "Welcome, welcome!" he said. His voice traveled across the passage so loudly that Jill almost flinched. "A new customer, it's so good to meet you! What's your name, girl?"

"Pony," she replied quietly. She was about to explain her purpose, but he cut her off again quickly.

"Pony, what a great name!" He chuckled. "Do you like horses? I could set you up with some horse reins, or an authentic western jar with little foals painted on it. How about a saddle?" He smiled a little too brightly, and knocked on the little cardboard box that served as his desk. "You wouldn't believe how much stuff I can store under here."

"No thanks," she replied. Before he could offer her another item, she continued, "I'm actually here because I have a lot of jewelry I dug up from the mine, and I was wondering if I could sell them to you." She removed her rucksack from her shoulders and dumped one pocket of contents on the cardboard box. Out tumbled bracelets, brooches, necklaces, and various other tiny gemstone delicacies.

Van eyed the jewelry with enthusiasm. "Oh, would you look at these beauties," he murmured, moving his spectacles to the very edge of his pointed nose. He picked up one of the earrings and held it to the light, carefully inspecting the way the tiny diamond sparkled a rainbow of colors.

"Yes, yes, these sell very well in the market," he continued, and put the earring back down. "I'll give you two thousand. Each. I won't go any higher."

Jill smiled. He was pretty good, cleverer than she expected him to be. His kind veneer was slowly fading to reveal a devilish salesman, which Jill's subconscious had probably picked up, and that's why he gave her such a bad vibe.

Making herself focus again on the matter at hand, she replied, "Actually, Van, I was thinking these are worth more like three thousand five hundred a piece. Don't you agree that's a more reasonable price?"

Van scowled just a bit, but then he fixed it and smiled a little coyly once again. "Well, how about we lower that to two thousand seven hundred? That's as high as I'll go, miss Pony," he said. His voice sounded like it was crawling now, which was a tone Jill used to hear frequently back at the black market that teamed up with the organization. The thought made her shiver a bit on the inside.

From past experience, Jill knew that she would lose the bargain if she didn't make a compromise, so she came up with an offer in her head quickly. "Here, I know," she began. "I'll take two thousand seven hundred for everything, except the necklaces. For those, I want three thousand. That seems pretty fair, seeing as there are only five necklaces in this pile."

Van eyed her a bit suspiciously, and then stuck out a pudgy hand for her to shake. "Deal," he said. He scooped up all of the jewelry on the table, dropped it into something under the box she couldn't see, and then reached for a little bag that was on the left of the counter. Quickly, he counted out several gold pieces, and then handed the right amount to Jill.

Her eyes widened. She had expected him to pay in check. Not many people, not even salespeople, would have the appropriate amount of hard gold to pay her fully.

Van noticed, and quickly covered her suspicion by chuckling, "I'll have to go to the bank now, Pony. But thank you very much for your business. I look forward to seeing you again soon." His kind façade was back up again, she noted.

Jill nodded silently, and turned around, not bothering to count the gold to see if it was enough before heading toward the exit. She was still shocked. He had paid her in all hundred pieces, of course, but it was still a bit strange he had managed to gather that much profit somewhere.

You're just crazy, Jill thought to herself. He's overweight and tall, he's just reminding you of the Pigs back at the organization. You're fine, Jill. Don't freak out.

That thought helped calm her down. He did look something like a Pig. It was probably her self-conscious kicking in (second time today, silly thing) and freaking out over something that wasn't even legitimate.

She turned another corner and started heading down the staircase. At the bottom Jill was surprised to find herself face-to-face with Muffy. Today, the blond was adorned in a purple mini dress with a little black shrug. In Jill's opinion she looked like she was going to an expensive dinner party rather than a walk in the valley, but that was Muffy for you, and that was the way everyone liked her.

"Pony! Ruby told me you'd probably come down soon," Muffy said, smiling. "Come on, walk with me. We have to go to Celia's house. We've got so much to do before tomorrow!"

They started walking to the exit of the Inn, and Jill asked, "Tomorrow? What's so special about tomorrow?"

As Muffy pushed open the door and they walked outside, her draw pretty much dropped to her shoulders, making a pop noise. "Tomorrow, is the Spring Thanksgiving! Did you never do it where you came from?"

"Frankly, I don't even know what the Spring Thanksgiving is, Muff," Jill laughed. "But please, you seem pretty excited about it, so enlighten me."

At this point they were walking across the bridge to Vesta's farm. Jill noticed that Muffy was walking at a faster pace than usual, probably because she was so excited about whatever this festival was.

"The Spring Thanksgiving," Muffy explained, "is a day where a boy that likes you - well, like, likes you, gives you cookies! And if he really likesyou, he gives you chocolate chip cookies!"

"You sound like a first grader when you say like," Jill giggled.

"Oh, hush," Muffy pouted, and poked Jill in the shoulder. "Anyway, that's the tradition, but us young people in the valley always have a big picnic at the spring, and we play games and stuff, and it's really fun, and this year me, Celia, and Karen are in charge of planning it! Everyone from Mineral Town is coming, too. It will be a great chance for you to mingle and meet some cute guys, Pony! And, you know, make more girl friends. It's awesome, I promise."

"Don't worry," Jill smiled. "I'll come. Actually, it sounds like a lot of fun. So I get to help plan, too, right?"

"Of course," Muffy said. "That's why I'm dragging you to Celia's house to meet with her and Karen, as well as me, of course. Celia's feeding us lunch, too, and with Karen there it ought to be super extra fun."

Muffy's never-ending stream of teenager-ness never ceased to amaze Jill. Then again, she supposed she used to be that way, too, but then the whole running thing happened and life got serious. The festival sounded fun, though, and that was another thing Jill missed: fun. Here in the valley, she was finally getting it again.

The pair had hardly waited half a second after they arrived at the house when the door swung wide open, and Karen appeared. "Hi, guys," she said, smiling hugely. "I'm so excited. Celia's making sandwiches for us. Come in, come in."

She ushered the two inside the house, which was pleasantly airy and comfortable, jut like always. The windows in the kitchen were open, which let in the spring breeze and the light scent of growing crops and wildflowers. Jill inhaled deeply, and then took a seat at the kitchen table next to Muffy. Karen handed her a cup of tea as well as a glass of water, which Jill gratefully accepted.

After a few minutes and some small talk, Celia joined them along with a platter of mini sandwiches so elegant that they looked like they belonged in an old 1950's movie. Karen, being Karen, took two sandwiches and ate them immediately, whereas Muffy took a dainty bite of her first sandwich. Celia and Jill exchanged an amused, knowing glance and ate their sandwiches at a fairly normal rate.

"So," Karen began, "first off, we need to settle on a theme."

Muffy was about to speak up, but Jill interrupted, "Wait, you mean this festival is tomorrow, and y'all haven't even come up with a theme yet?"

"Did you just say y'all?"

"That's besides the point," Jill said, ignoring the comment. "You don't have a theme, guys?"

Celia smiled, and replied, "The tradition is not to plan anything until the day before the festival. So, no, we don't have a theme."

"Oh, okay," Jill said. "I guess it's a good thing there's four of us then. All the more people for brainstorming."

"Really, though, did you say y'all?"

"Shut up, Muffy."

The girls all giggled except for Jill, who tried to be serious as she took another sip of tea. It was both amusing and a little sad that Muffy had pointed out Jill's rupture in speech. Most of the time she tried to act professional but light-hearted, but when she got comfortable (like around her family and friends, who were mostly gone, hence the sad part) she started using expressions like y'all. The happy part was that she was comfortable enough to say the word. The other sad part was that she might have to leave the valley someday. But that was a topic she had grown used to not thinking about, because it was too contradictory to think about.

"Anyway," Muffy smiled. "Back to business. I think the theme should be wildflowers. We've got plenty of those around the spring, and we can spread the petals everywhere."

"Maybe," Karen said, "but hasn't that been done like twice before?"

Muffy shrugged. "Yeah, but it's always pretty."

As Jill listened to them debate a bit, she started thinking. Coming up for the theme was like coming up for a theme for prom, only this was a picnic, so some things had to change. They needed natural light, so it had to be during the day, unless they had moonlight.

Suddenly Jill remembered. Fourteenth. The fourteenth of spring was always a full moon. Thank Goddess for the weird little facts she had learned from her also weird little astronomy teacher in high school.

"Guys!" she said excitedly. Muffy and Karen stopped discussing the wildflower theme, and looked at Jill. "We should do a Starry Night Picnic. How cool would that be? Tomorrow's a full moon, so we'd have plenty of light! Wouldn't it be gorgeous, reflecting off the pond and the magical-glow-y flowers and everything?" Jill mentally face palmed when she realized she had said the words magical-glow-y flowers, another casual phrase, but kept smiling nonetheless.

Celia brightened. "That's a great idea, Pony. The firefly flowers - that's what they're called - will reflect the moonlight like lanterns. We've never done something like this before, and last time there were complaints that no one got to spend time with their families during the festival because they were at the picnic all day. This way they can spend the day with their family, and the evening at the picnic."

Muffy and Karen both beamed at the exact same time. "That's perfect, Pony," Karen breathed, just as Muffy sang, "You are amazing!"

More preparations then commenced. The girls went to Celia's closet and found various big sheets of blue, black, silver, and white fabric that they could use as picnic blankets, and then they divvied out food responsibilities. Muffy would be responsible for drinks, Karen for snacks, and Jill would help Celia prepare some small main courses that would be good picnic food. Then there was the matter of decorations, which Muffy promised to take care of.

All of the preparations took at least three more hours, and the end of it left Jill feeling both giddy and exhausted. Thinking of things to please the younger residents that were also practical enough to pull off was a difficult task, but one they had achieved nonetheless.

"Oh, Celia! Karen!" Muffy said suddenly when they were debriefing the various tasks for each person. "Do you guys know what you're going to wear?"

"Probably that one black dress I have," Karen shrugged. "And I'll bet you ten gold pieces that Celia will wear her white one."

Celia smiled and nodded, but Jill was slightly confused. "Wait...dress?"

Muffy nodded, but then her face abruptly turned into one of complete and utter horror. "Oh my Goddess, Pony, you don't have a dress!" She turned to the other two girls, and asked in a rush, "Can you two take care of informing everyone of the time and theme of the picnic? I've got to get Jill a dress before she collects her profits from Mayor Thomas at five."

"Of course," Karen nodded. "Come on, Celia, let's go." She turned to Jill, and then continued, "Good luck, Pony. Muffy's a pretty tough fashion critique. She doesn't let you choose what you want to wear unless she's certain it looks good."

"That's not true!" Muffy cried as they walked outside.

"Oh, yes it is!" Celia yelled back, and then closed the door quietly behind her.

When Muffy got going in fashion, nothing stopped her. The blond practically dragged Jill back to the blue bar in thirty seconds flat, explaining in a rush that she had tons of dresses but they'd have to scrap all of the red, yellow, and orange ones, because that would clash with the theme. By the end of the first hour, Jill knew Celia and Karen were right. Muffy was quite the critic.

Jill had tried on most of Muffy's closet and almost every dress had been thrown in the "no" pile on Muffy's bed. Two dresses, a long shimmering white dress that Jill thought was overkill and a black dress that Jill had to admit was sexy but also overkill, had been put in the "yes" pile.

Jill was beginning to remember why she hated dresses so much. She loved looking pretty, of course, but being so short (she sized up to a whopping five foot one) meant that she had to either wear long dresses or ridiculously short dresses. Everything else just looked silly. Her hair was also a tangled mess, but Muffy assured the small female that she had a solution for that.

It wasn't until another ten minutes and three dresses passed (one of them was a very lovely forest green that Jill liked but Muffy detested) that they finally found the perfect one. Jill stepped in front of the mirror to inspect the new look. The skirt of the dress was navy blue, pleated silk that only went down to mid-thigh, making her look a bit taller than she actually was. The silver one-inch heels Muffy had forced her to strap on helped as well. The top of the dress was black and accentuated her curves but didn't make her look like she was out to get some dudes. She just wanted to look cute, thus proved by the little black blow tied around her waist that separated the top part of the dress from the bottom.

"It's flawless," Muffy breathed. "I've always been too tall to wear that dress. You should keep it. You look great; the perfect combination of cute and hot."

Jill fussed a bit with the hem of the skirt, and replied, "I wouldn't go that far, but I do like it. So we can stick with this one?"

Muffy nodded. "Yep. I think we're done here."

"Thank Goddess," Jill breathed, and flopped onto the bed next to Muffy. "What time is the festival tomorrow? I need sleep. That was exhausting."

"Uh, not until like eight, I think. Sound good?"

"Great."

"But I'm coming over to help with your hair and makeup at six. Celia and Karen will come, too, so you have to be awake by then."

"Screw you."

"I love you, too, Pony."

• • •

The next day at six o'clock sharp, Muffy arrived along with Celia and Karen. Jill had finished her farm work and spent the majority of the day relaxing (ignoring Muffy and Celia's request to spend the day with their families) and taking some naps to catch up on sleep. She tended to get fewer nightmares when she wasn't sleeping at night, for some reason. Maybe the light shining through her window made her feel safer.

As soon as the girls got there, Celia and Karen got ready in the main room, while Muffy ushered Jill straight to the girl's miniscule bathroom. (If you could even call it a bathroom. There was no shower and the toilet didn't always function properly.) There was a mirror and a sink, though, and Muffy promised that was all they needed in order to fix Jill's hair.

Said "fixing" involved lots of painful yanks with a wire brush and then a much more relaxing head massage with some sort of fancy product Muffy used in her own hair. Then, when Jill's hair wasn't as damp from the gel, Muffy took a curling iron from her bag.

"Oh, no," Jill said, putting her hands up protectively by her face. "You are not curling my hair. Last time someone tried curling my hair, they burned me like three times, Muffy." 'Last time' had been in sixth grade with a friend Jill didn't even know the whereabouts of anymore, but still. Young or old, burns from hair disasters stick in one's memory for a very long time.

"Don't worry, Pony," Muffy smiled. "I do this literally everyday, unless on some slim chance it looks alright natural. I'm really good, I promise. And I'll keep the heat low, too. Come on, it will look so pretty. Please?"

Jill sighed. "I don't have power in this bathroom, so you wouldn't be able to even if I let you."

"What? Yes, you do," Muffy giggled. "Seriously. It's right there, Pony."

Muffy pointed to a tiny electrical outlet that blended in with the wall. Jill had never noticed it before. Her jaw dropped.

"How did I not notice that?!" the brunette cried. "Seriously, I've been trying to find an electric outlet since I moved her so I could be reassured I wasn't totally disconnected from the rest of the world!"

"There's one in your living room, too," Muffy continued. "That's why your phone hasn't been working. You couldn't find the outlet. They all blend in with the walls, and that one was under a table, too, so it was shadowy and stuff. But I plugged it in for you, so no worries."

Jill pouted. "How do you do that, Muffy?"

The blond shrugged. "When you curl your hair everyday, you learn to find an outlet anywhere possible, even if it seems like there isn't one within like two miles. Anyway, we should get started so Celia and Karen don't get impatient."

Jill smiled. "Celia? Impatient? I don't think I've heard those two words in a sentence yet. Karen, though..."

"I heard that!" Karen shouted from the main room. Muffy and Jill quietly giggled.

Muffy was right about getting started. It took her at least half an hour to do a good job curling Jill's hair but, as promised, Jill was left with no burn scars, which she was very grateful for.

Then there was the matter of getting into the dress. Jill was angry with herself because she had forgotten to apply makeup to her shoulder wound that morning. Most of her scars had faded enough that they wouldn't be very noticeable, but the shoulder scar was one that would probably stay for a good while, and would be a lot more noticeable even in the moonlight. Yesterday, changing hadn't been a problem, because Muffy had just focused on something else in her room while Jill put on the various dresses, but now they were squeezed in a tiny bathroom, so it was possible she would notice something.

As Jill was mulling over these thoughts in her head, she inspected Muffy. The blond was now fixing her own hair. She had already curled it that morning, but she was fixing some "rough spots," as she said. Muffy's outfit consisted of an elegant dark purple dress that went down to her ankles, as well as three-inch black heels. She promised to take them off during games, though. She didn't want a well-planned outfit to ruin her fun. Her curly hair was accented with a black headband, complete with an artificial purple flower.

"I don't suppose you'll wear makeup, will you?" Muffy suddenly asked, catching Jill by surprise.

"Nope. That's where I'm putting my foot down," Jill replied. Unless it's for my shoulder. "Sorry. It's a bother to get off, and the remover stuff irritates my skin." At least that ending part was true. She preferred wearing shirts with sleeves so she didn't have to worry about the makeup leaving a rash.

"Fair enough," Muffy replied. Then, her face brightened. "Come on, you need to get into your dress. Celia and Karen are going to freak when they see you."

"They'll freak when they see you, too. You look great," Jill said, smiling.

"Yeah, but I always wear dresses. We've never seen you all dolled up."

Jill shrugged. "Yeah, well..." She glanced in the mirror, pretending to act very interested in a stray eyelash on her cheek, and continued, "Actually, could you give me a second? I'm second-guessing that makeup. How about you go out and talk to Celia and Karen while I change and put some on."

"Well, okay," Muffy said. "But hurry up, we have to be getting to the festival soon."

As soon as Muffy was gone, Jill started to undress. Thankfully, the blond had left her little purple bag of cosmetics on the sink, and Jill could use her makeup. She slipped the silky blue fabric of the dress over her head, taking a tiny moment to admire herself in the mirror. The dress was very pretty, and Jill couldn't help but smile at her hair, too. It looked really pretty curled compared to her traditional messy ponytail, but she was too lazy to curl her hair every day like Muffy.

After she put on the dress, she sifted through the cosmetic bag, looking for the case of cover-up. When she found it, she took it out and started applying some to the scar on her shoulder. The blemish was only about the size of a quarter, but the wound itself had covered her entire body. Jill shuddered at the thought. Getting shot was something she didn't really want to go through a second time, but, knowing her, it would very well happen again someday.

Once the wound was covered, she applied a tiny bit of mascara to her lashes, just so she could prove to Muffy that she had in fact put on some makeup. She was just about to leave when she remembered one more thing. The key.

Jill kneeled down to look through the pile of her clothes on the floor until she found the necklace that she had taken off only about a minute before. It hung on a chain and was tiny, but not only was it the key to her journal but also her safety. If someone got a hold of the key they got a hold of the flash drive, and that would be bad. Very, very bad.

For that reason, Jill knew she couldn't just wear the key around her neck at this party. There was no way to conceal it under a shirt, because the top of the dress didn't reach her collarbone, so it was too short. The thought of hiding it at home made her equally uneasy, though, because Jill knew that her door had no lock on it. Of course no one in the valley would steal from her, but if Skye was out for a stroll tonight, then that was something totally different.

Jill eventually settled with wearing the key around her neck. It was probably safest with her, anyway, and she could hide it under the décolletage of her dress if she clasped it on the last ring. Hopefully everyone would just assume it was a regular necklace or something, and they wouldn't notice it in the moonlight.

After all of this preparation (which, in reality, only took about five minutes), Jill stepped back into the main room. Celia was sitting on Jill's bed, fixing up Karen's hair, and Muffy was prattling on about some new fashion in a magazine. Celia was the first one who noticed Jill enter quietly, and her eyes widened a bit once she saw the small girl.

"Pony, you look great," Celia breathed. Karen and Muffy also looked up and smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised if some guy from Mineral town fell over at your feet. Or even here, in the valley. Gustafa's single, you know."

Jill laughed. "While I admire Gustufa's guitar skills, I think his nose would be a problem if I tried kissing him. Thanks anyway, though, and you guys don't look too shabby yourself."

The other girls stood up, and Jill was able to get a better look at them. Karen was wearing a dress similar to Muffy's in elegance, but it was black and had a bit lower of a neckline. She was also wearing heels, but Jill assumed she had the same plan as Muffy when it came to shoes versus having fun.

Celia, on the other hand, was wearing a white, short dress, and while she looked very pretty, it was a more conservative dress. Unlike the other three girls, she was wearing cute ballet flats.

Better for running, Jill thought, and she suddenly became a bit uneasy. What if, for some reason, she needed to run during the party, other than for a picnic? Her heels were shorter than Karen and Muffy's, but if she was going to run for a while and not on the spongy grass at the spring, she was going to want decent shoes.

Before she could ponder the idea more, Muffy said, "Well, we should probably get going. We have to be the first ones there, or else it will make us look bad."

"Yes," Karen laughed, "because the valley and Mineral Town people are all about being on time to an adolescent picnic."

Jill couldn't help but smile at this comment as the four girls walked out the door.

• • •