Chapter 2

You're Too Kind

By the end of Spring I had Gannon build the bridge to both the Meadow and Forest. The day after I ordered the Forest bridge he had come by to tell me it was done. I thanked him and he just grunted in response as always.

"You should go check out the area when you get the chance," he suggested before leaving.

"Thanks again, Gannon, and you bet I will!" I told him with delight.

To be honest, I was really excited. The Meadow didn't provide much besides a space to hold festivals, but the forest held all sorts of possibilities, not only that, but it would attract more people to the island. So as soon as I finished work I skipped my daily fishing trip and went straight to the new bridge. There was still sawdust on the wooden boards and they were undisturbed so I figured I'd be the first to step into the forest. I ran across the bridge to see what awaited me.

The first thing I saw was a woman walking away and talking to herself, first thing that came to my mind was to follow. I followed her deeper into the forest a ways from the bridge and we finally came upon a pink house.

"Huh, nice place," I said to myself after she went inside. I decided that I wanted to introduce myself, besides, I was feeling confident about my people skills, so I approached the home and built the courage to step inside. "Here goes nothing."

Inside, the blonde woman was talking to a giant teddy bear. I was beginning to think that coming in wasn't the brightest of ideas.

It took her a moment to notice me.

'Well, someone's found me," she said, not looking very surprised.

"Uh, hi, I'm—"

"Oh, don't tell me. I can use my magic for that," she interrupted me, coming closer. She put her hand on my shoulder and began chanting in an obscure language. I contemplated running away, but I was rooted to the spot until she finally opened her eyes and took her hand back. I stepped back in surprise finally able to move again.

"So you're Chelsea, and you're the one running the farm…interesting," she finally said.

I was stunned.

"How…Who are you?" I asked.

She laughed, "Surprised? Well, it is magic, and I am the Witch Princess after all."

"Uh, yeah. It's amazing."

"Hmm, I like you. You're intriguing. You may come by whenever you want, just bring something nice whenever you do."

She laughed in amusement while I laughed out of fear. However, I would say that was the beginning of our friendship.

And I had quite a few friends on the island. I did whatever favors I could do for my neighbors, remembered birthdays, and made it a point to talk to everyone before the day ended. But I had a few people I was especially close with: Mr. Taro, Natalie, and Julia, oh, and the Witch Princess too.

Mr. Taro was like a grandfather to me, he showed the unconditional love I never really got from my own parents. Natalie and Julia though, along with the Witch Princess, became my best friends, although the Witch Princess never left her home.

Life was good. By midsummer I had Gannon build the final bridge to the Jungle, where I met Wada and Shea. Pierre moved in, so did Eliza, Regis and Sabrina. A church was built by newcomers Alisa and Nathan, a Dinner and Café was opened and I even met the Harvest Goddess (much to the Witch Princess' dismay). Eventually another fisherman (woman, actually) move in as well, and shortly after her, Mark come to the island.

He came to my home early one morning. It was six am and it was one of those rare days that I was going to allow myself to sleep in, but he woke me up.

"What?!" I wasn't happy answering that door.

"I just wanted to introduce myself…" said the blonde man.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and apologized.

"Come inside and have some breakfast," I offered him.

"I couldn't—"

"You can, and will. I'm sorry for yelling so let me show that."

He nodded and came in. I started cooking an omelet as he sat down and told me his name.

"So, Mark, I'm Chelsea," I told him.

"I know, you're the great rancher I've been hearing about," he said.

"Well, I wouldn't say great…"

He laughed, "Well, great or not you're very generous."

"Thank you, so where are you staying?" I asked.

"At the Inn in East Town."

"Nice place."

"Yeah…"

We talked a bit while I cooked, mostly about how the farm was going and how he was impressed that I had been running the ranch by myself and he told me how he traveled around looking for a place to start his own ranch.

Once we finished eating he told me he wanted to ask me something.

"Can I apply for a job?" he asked.

"Where?" I asked, I thought that he wanted to work at the Dinner or something.

"Here! Please," he begged me.

I thought for a moment, I could always use the help, but I wanted to mess with him first.

"Okay, do you have any references?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Any experience?"

"No, but—"

"A pet monkey named Fernando who will pick pocket the villagers and bring us the money?"

"No—wait, what?"

We both laughed.

"You've got the job, Mark. I was just teasing you," I told him, "I didn't have any experience when I started either, but I can teach you everything you need to know."

"Sweet! Thank you Chelsea!" he said, giving me a hug. Mark was great, but he didn't know the meaning of personal space. He said good bye after I told him that he could start the next day.

Mark was a great employee and friend. He defiantly helped me on the farm, with him on staff I was able to spend more time courting Denny and spending time with. He cared for the crops while I learned more about caring for cattle too.

Even though I spent more time trying to get Denny to like me, I didn't notice his attraction to the new fisherwoman until I walked into the Dinner alone one night. He was with her and I assumed it was a date. I was about to turn around and leave when Denny called me over.

"Hey, Chelsea, meet Lanna!" he said, waving towards the blonde, "She used to be a pop star."

"Hi," I said.

"So you're Chelsea! Denny's told me so much about you," she said after the name exchange.

That cheered me up a little."Really?"

"Oh yeah! He says you're a great fisher."

Figures all he talked about was fishing.

"That's…nice," I said.

"You're pretty good at most of the things you do here, huh, Chelsea? I mean, you run a farm all by yourself," Denny said.

I was flattered, really, I was. But he was always telling me he was impressed by the whole farm thing. "I don't want to run it by myself though. Besides, Mark helps me now."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Chelsea…"

"Then you should find a husband!" Lanna said oblivious to the fact that she was on a date with who I wanted to marry.

"Heh, yeah, you're right. Actually—"

"Chelsea!"

I groaned and looked for who had called my name. It was Mark. He walked up to our table, ready to deliver a message when he just stood there, staring behind me while his face turned red.

"Yes, Mark?" I asked, a bit impatient.

"Huh? Oh! Vaughn's been looking for you. Said he needs to talk to you right away," he told me.

I sighed, more for effect since I was all too happy to leave the happy couple. It just would have been nice if he didn't need to lecture me again. Mr. Taro had taught me the basics on raising livestock, but Vaughn was teaching me the rest when he came to the island. I like to think that through these visits we became friends, but he always argues with me that we were friends before that, it was the only reason he had agreed t help in the first place.

Back on the ranch Vaughn was waiting for me outside my barn.

"What's up, Vaughn?" I asked.

"Come inside," he said.

Inside the barn were my animals, of course, but my first cow, Betty, was much larger than the other. And there was a wrapped box on top of the feeder.

"Go open it," he said.

I grabbed the box and unwrapped it slowly, I was always so careful around him.

Inside was a cow milker. I looked to Vaughn for an explanation.

"Betty's ready to be milked," he explained.

"I can see that. But…are you giving me this?" I asked.

"You earned it."

I smiled. It was then that it hit me; I was so very lucky to have been shipwrecked. Everyone on the island was so kind, nothing but manners and support. It was only summer and already I had chickens, cows, and a fully cleared field (thanks to Natalie and Mark). All of this, mixed with the disappointment of Denny and Lanna brought tears to my eyes.

"H..hey, are you crying?" Vaughn asked.

I laughed, "Sorta."

"Hmmm."

His lack for anything to say only made me laugh harder. "Come on, I'll milk Betty and we can share her first bottle of milk!" I said.

He smiled and nodded, "Okay then."

Vaughn's gift, for some reason, gave me a sudden burst of confidence, just the thing I needed to win Denny over. I wasn't giving up just yet.

Author's Note: ...

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon and all characters belong to Natsume