New chappie! I wanted to get this whole introduction thing out of the way quickly, so it's all chapter 1.
Chapter 1
"…Hey… Are you alright?"
The girl slowly opened her eyes against the bright sunlight. Standing over her were two people: a man and a woman. In shock, she jumped up, and the two strangers moved back to give her room. The girl looked from person to person, very confused about what was going on.
The first to speak was the man. He was an elderly fellow; dressed sharply in a white dress shirt, tan trousers and an elegant black coat. He wore a rose on his coat, and a fun green hat with a matching necktie. His mustache was well styled, along with what hair was on his mostly bald head. "Well now…! Our friend has regained consciousness! Good, good!" He exclaimed.
"Are you hurt?" the woman asked. "It was quite a shock to find you lying there!" She was much younger than the man, and also much taller. She wore a red, white and black Asian-style dress with a matching hair veil. Her basic attire was brightened up with golden earrings and a pendant. Her eyebrows slanted down, giving her an intimidating persona. In the middle of her forehead was a dot. Her brown hair was combed back into the veil.
The well-dressed man spoke again. "I don't suppose you could be young Erin who was going to come farm here?"
Erin? The girl thought. Is that…? Yes! I think that's my name!
Erin nodded.
"Ho ho!" he laughed. "I knew it! I am the mayor of the village of Bluebell down the road to the left. My name is Rutger. Why not come to my village? You'd be very welcome!"
"I-" Erin began.
"Who do you think you are?" the woman angrily shouted as she pointed an accusing finger at Rutger. "If this young farmer lives anywhere, it'll be Konohana!" She turned to Erin and continued. "Ahem. Sorry to yell like that. But I'd hate for you to make a mistake."
"Mistake…?" Erin asked.
"I'm the mayor of the village down the path to the right. It's called Konohana. My name's Ina. I'm sure that Konohana would suit you better!" the woman- Ina- explained.
Now it was Rutger's turn to shout. "And who do you think YOU are?" He yelled, clenching his empty fist and squeezing his staff until it bent. "Konohana? Better than my lovely village of Bluebell? Preposterous!"
The two mayors glared at each other, as Erin stammered, "I-I… um…"
As if they just remembered that Erin was there, Rutger and Ina quickly turned back to the young lady. "Well, Erin, it's time for you to pick which village you want to live in," Ina said.
"A-already?"
"It certainly is!" Rutger happily agreed. "Before you do, let me tell you a little about Bluebell!"
Ina rolled her eyes. Erin could sense the Konohanian's impatience for Rutger, but both girls kept their mouths shut.
After throwing an apologetic glance at Ina, Erin prompted Rutger. "Please tell me."
"Of course! I'll tell you all about it!"
Rutger then began to describe the village of Bluebell. "In Bluebell, our lives center on our livestock. Their glossy coats! Tails swaying in the breeze! Their soft eyes! Fresh milk, cheese and eggs! In Bluebell, our animals are like lifelong companions!"
Erin nodded, imagining all the adorable creatures living in the village.
"And our adorable animals aren't all!" Rutger continued. Ina groaned, but Rutger paid no notice. "Flowers bloom everywhere, handsome brick houses stand along cobblestone streets…" After a dramatic pause, he concluded, "Bluebell is a storybook village filled with romantic charm! Doesn't that sound like a wonderful village? Farming means livestock, after all!"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Ina argued. "Farming means crops! And when it comes to crops, Konohana is tops!"
Is that, like, your town's motto, or something?
"Now it's my turn to tell you something about what Konohana is like," Ina declared.
"Of course," Erin agreed.
"Alrighty then," Ina responded. "Let me tell you about it-" Ina began to speak about the layout of Konohana- "Konohana is nestled among fields of crops. Tender vegetables! Sweet, scrumptious fruit! Golden waves of grain!"
Well. We're quite fond of figurative language, aren't we? I've already counted rhyming, alliteration and a metaphor!
"Crops sprouting from ample fields in all seasons. Raising crops is what life is all about! Along with our great crops-" Rutger impatiently fiddled with his rose- "we have a village that's as pretty as can be! The buildings have tile and thatch roofs that really set them apart! And colorful lanterns hanging from the eaves!"
"Are you quite finished yet?" Rutger mumbled.
Ina finished her speech with, "That's Konohana for you! Nice place, isn't it? You won't find a better place for crops in all the world."
Rutger cleared his throat. "So, Erin, which village do you choose to live in?"
"Your choice will affect how your life is from now on. So pick the village you like," Ina added.
Erin looked up at the sky. It's going to rain sometime soon. Both towns sounded amazing to live in. Bluebell had animals, and Konohana had delicious sounding crops. She counted the pros and cons of each village, but they added up to be the same. Then it hit her. Rutger couldn't stop her from raising crops if she lived in Bluebell, and the same with Ina and livestock in Konohana. Therefore, it didn't really decide her whole career then and there.
Still, she wasn't sure which village she would prefer. She adored Asian-style anything, but the flowers in Bluebell sounded wonderful. There was nothing to do but to let her intuition decide this one.
"I believe I will move to Konohana," she finally announced.
"I knew it!" Ina laughed. "Who could resist such a beautiful, crop-friendly town?"
Rutger let out a depressed sigh. "I don't get it…" he complained. "What's wrong with Bluebell?"
"Oh, there's nothing wrong with it! I just-"
Rutger, not wanting to hear the rest of Erin's compliment for Konohana, regained his composure. "What a shame! If you ever change your mind, you're welcome in Bluebell!" He said, before beginning his walk back to Bluebell.
Ina and Erin watched until the man was out of sight. Once he was, Ina turned to her companion. "Alrighty then," she announced, "let's get going to Konohana!"
"One thing we have to deal with before that, though, is your muddy clothes!" she added.
Erin looked at herself for the first time since waking up. Her shirt was torn and discolored. The shorts she wore were covered in mud, along with her boots. Her short reddish-brown hair was a tangled mess, and there were scratches on her face and arms, in addition to the bump on her head. Realizing how unappealing she looked, she nodded as she waited for Ina to continue.
"You wouldn't want to start your new life all caked in mud! Wear this instead," said Ina as she handed Erin a bundle of clothing. Erin wondered why Ina had spare clothing fit for twenty-two year-old girls in the first place, but didn't care enough to ask. "It's a Konohana outfit," Ina explained. "Go ahead and put it on."
Erin, being self-conscious of her current appearance, despite the fact that Ina was probably the only person for miles, took refuge behind a large tree to her left. Once she had finished, she checked her reflection in the nearby spring.
She was now sporting a baby blue camisole with a navy blue crop jacket. The jacket had yellow and blue trimmings on the inside edges, with a matching stripe going horizontally all around her chest and back. Similar trimmings edged the holes of her flared sleeves, above which there was a wider red stripe on each side. She also had on capris in the same color and with the same flare and trimmings as the jacket. On top of the bottom was a golden yellow skirt with a brown belt. Hanging off the belt was a piece of red fabric made of the same material as the red stripes on her jacket. Her boots were replaced with closed toe sandals, with more red and yellow stripes. To top it all off, her still untamed hair was kept out of her face with a hair band that matched the fabric and the red parts of her sleeves.
Satisfied with herself for the time being, she walked back to Ina. "Looks pretty good on you!" she complimented. Erin blushed at Ina's kind words; she wasn't used to straightforward praise. "Starting today, you are a resident of Konohana!"
Erin nodded for what seemed like the hundredth time that meeting. Her throat was very sore, so she was trying to save her voice as best as she could without looking stupid.
After making a quick mental check, Ina announced, "Now we're ready to go to Konohana!"
Ina and Erin descended into the northern part of Konohana. Erin looked around in amazement at the area. There was a tall white wall painted blue on top to mark the border of Konohana and the mountain. The paths were unpaved but well kept. There were two houses nearby. One was white with a tall red roof, while the other was red with a brown roof. The second house had a matching stable with a large fenced in area. There was lots of open space to grow crops- just like Ina said- and red benches were scattered around. Cherry blossom trees grew in abundance. Erin looked behind her and noticed a mysterious hole going straight through the mountain.
Ina was aware of Erin's attention changing locations and asked, "Huh? What is it?" She followed Erin's eyes. "Oh, so you noticed the tunnel. It connects this village with Bluebell…" Erin looked at Ina in surprise. "But it's blocked now-" the mayor hastily explained- "and you can't go back and forth like they did in the old days."
Long after Ina turned away from the tunnel, Erin was still looking at it, wondering what life must have been like back then. "Get a move on!" Ina scolded half-jokingly. "We're burning daylight here. Your farm's this way. Come on!"
Ina followed the path to the right into what was to be Erin's farm. Erin took one glance back at the tunnel before turning and following her.
Both girls were unaware of their spectator. A beautiful young woman with long green hair had appeared out of nowhere and watched as Erin hurried off after Ina. She seemed to be considering Erin. "Perhaps…" she whispered to herself, before disappearing.
Erin caught up to Ina just as the path curved to the left and Ina stopped. "This is the place!" Ina announced. "Your new farm!"
Erin looked around her new home. In front of her, a few paces ahead, was small, hexagonal white house. There was a large brown door in the front, and one small round window on each other side. The roof was thickly thatched and held together with a wooden criss-crossed decoration that reminded Erin of a bicycle rack from her old town. The path led straight to her front door and widened to surround her whole house, with much more area on the left being dedicated to the path than the right. There were some barrels and crates organized on the left and right sides of her door, respectively.
Directly to the right of her was a smaller square building, painted brown with the same roof style and wooden top. With it's caged windows and large entrance with no door, plus the decent sized fenced in area surrounding it, Erin guessed it was a stable of some kind. The fenced area started on each side of the small cliff that the stable was placed against and came around until they met. Another fence branched off at one point and came around to make a smaller area within the fenced area. The entrance to the whole area was blocked off to animals by logs that people would easily get around.
There was lots of open space, and many trees; cherry blossom and oak, Erin noted. To her left was a water pump, with a stone pool beneath it. It was already filled to the brim with fresh water. The grass was tall and unkempt, but above all the place looked very hospitable to Erin.
Ina laughed when she saw Erin's excitement and contentment. "First, you need to decide on a name for your farm," Ina informed Erin. "Pick any name you like!"
Erin thought about it for a minute. "I've always wanted to have a farm called Jewel Farm. I just think it's a lovely name for a farm."
Ina looked taken aback, probably because it was the first time Erin had spoken in more than one sentence. "So you want to call it Jewel Farm? You sure?" she questioned.
"Do I sound unsure to you? Yes!" Erin laughed.
Ina's laugh joined Erin's. "That's a good name!" she remarked. "I'm sure it will be a great farm!" The two stood in silence for a minute, before Ina continued, "Your house is just ahead. But first, you should take a look around your farm! I'll wait for you in front of your house."
Erin wandered around, getting a better look at her stable and crop space. Once she was done, she walked to her house. Ina was there, just like she promised.
"All done?" Ina asked, "Great!" she continued before Erin could even answer. "Oh, one more thing. There are a lot of useful natural items in and around the mountain. Feel free to pick them up."
Erin nodded. Again.
"I know!" Ina exclaimed. "I'll give you some practice by sending you on a treasure hunt!" Erin looked at Ina curiously. "Somewhere on this farm is a flower," she explained. "Find the flower and pick it up, ok?"
Erin explored her farm area again, keeping her eyes on the ground in search of the flower. She finally spotted it near the entrance to her farm. It was a rich blue color, and bell shaped. The stem curved a little so that the flower's top was horizontal instead of vertical. Admiring its beauty, Erin carefully picked it up.
"That's the way!" Ina called when Erin walked back over to her. "Once you've got an item, there's no reason not to throw it away. But don't do that with the valuable item you've just found! Items like this should be put in your bag…"
"My bag?" Erin asked.
"It's a good idea to put what you've picked up in your bag before you lose it!"
"But… I don't have a bag," Erin reminded her mayor.
"Oh!" Ina gasped. "That's right! So sorry. Here you go. I had it here for you, and forgot to give it to you. Silly me. You can attach it to your belt." She handed Erin a brown rucksack. Erin tied it to her belt using part of the red fabric. "Put that flower in your bag!" Ina instructed. Erin did as she was told. "Looks like you put it in your bag just fine," Ina praised.
"No, because putting flowers in bags is really difficult," Erin responded sarcastically.
Ina chucked apologetically. "Sorry, this is kind of rehearsed. Now let me show you your house."
Ina stepped aside to let Erin lead the way into her house. Erin looked around. Most of the area was empty, but there was a decorative orange rug in the middle of the wooden floor, with a simple table on top of it. The whole floor was made of the wooden planks except for the very entrance, which was stone. A long yellow bowl that Erin expected would hold pet food sat against the right wall. Near it and the door was a strange miniature tree thing. Against the left wall was a counter-type area. On it was a miniature cart and a calendar. Next to that was a green chest, and next to that was Erin's bed. It had a simple light blue sheet on it. Behind the bed was another counter, but this one had nothing on it. Against the back wall was a bookshelf, already full of books but with room for more. Next to that was a small table with a basket on it. In the back right corner was her kitchen. There was a two-flame stove, a counter with a cutting board and knife, and a sink. Next to that was a tall cabinet, with two drawers. On top of that, there was a green scale and two bottles of cooking wine. An olive colored mat was laid out in front of the kitchen, spanning from the stove to the sink.
"This is your house!" said Ina. "Live in it however you like."
"Really?" Erin asked mischievously. "Any way I want?"
Ina stammered, "W-well, maybe not any way, but-"
Erin laughed. "I'm just kidding! It's lovely!" she exclaimed.
Ina looked relieved that she hadn't invited some kind of psychopath into her village. "There's been a lot of info to take in today… I bet you're tired."
Erin hadn't noticed before, but as Ina said it, she felt a yawn coming to her. She held it back, but nodded.
"You should get some rest. If you feel up to it, you can check the bookshelf and kitchen before sleeping."
"Alright," Erin responded, accidentally letting the yawn out when she did.
"That does it for me," Ina decided. "I'll be getting home."
Erin nodded again and bade Ina farewell. The mayor left Erin's house, leaving the farmer to herself. She suddenly didn't feel up to looking at her bookshelf, so she climbed into bed. She fell asleep instantly.
I hope you weren't expecting Ina to tell Erin how to walk. Although, with Ina's word choice, that could have been interesting.
Ina: Let me tell you how to move!
Erin: ... isn't that a little sudden? (Note: Moving can mean switching towns as well.)