Chapter one: Mystery Girl
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"Land ho!" Chelsea was pulled out of a deep slumber as she heard the booming voice of the captain, of the ship that was sailing her toward her new home, calling out. Chelsea groaned softly and then let out a yawn, rolling over on to her back, having slept on her left side, she then proceeded to stretch and then sit up, rubbing her eyes. "That should be illegal for the love of my father's wealth." Chelsea grumbled to herself as she got up and began to gather her things, she let out a huffy sigh, she couldn't believe the captain of the ship had such a shrill and loud voice that she could hear it even within the confides of her own cabin in the ship's large hull. Finally she had gathered up all of her belongings and made the trip down the hall, up some stairs, unlatching the hatch above her and swinging it up and open and stepping up and on to the ship's deck with her suitcases in tow. Chelsea's sea blue eyes widened as she saw the upcoming islands, at first it would appear as if the islands were moving toward them, though in reality it was the other way around. Suddenly Chelsea felt an eager sensation flood her and now she couldn't wait to step foot onto the islands! "Wow! They look beautiful!" She breathed out in a sigh of contentment, clearly now unbothered by the fact she had been awoken in a rather rude manner. As the ship slowed to a stop at the docks Chelsea was taken a back by the beauty of the islands she could see. The beach before her stunned her into silence; she had never been to a beach in her life, too unsophisticated her parents would say, too barbaric. Though now Chelsea wondered how in the wild world they could have kept her from this. The clean white bleached sand, the rippling crystal clear blue waves, the clattered seashells lying in beautiful chaos all around the shore line the palm trees with their emerald green leaves wiping in a cooling breeze and the smell of the salty and sweet sea all hit Chelsea at once and she let out a small whisper, "I'm home." Was what the girl decided, yes, this place it would be perfect for her, it held a beauty, a certain charm, which the mansion she grew up in never possessed. Chelsea sucked in a deep breath of the air around her and waited for the captain to secure the ship and as he did Chelsea was able to step off onto the swirling white sand beneath her feet. 'Yes….I really do think I will love it here.' Chelsea thought dreamily to herself.
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"Wake up Julia!"
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A yawn slipped through Julia's mouth as she rose from her bed in a sit, she saw Mirabelle standing at the foot of her bed smiling with a grin that could match the sun's gleam. "Mirabelle what's going on?" She stifled a yawn and threw off her covers and slipped out of bed.
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"Come on, come on!" Mirabelle cheered out, swirling around and walking toward Julia's bedroom door, she threw a glance over her shoulder and she said with excitement, "Don't you know dearest Julia? A new girl has just arrived on the island! Taro just told me that he wants you and me to go and greet her!"
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The first thought that rushed through Julia's mind made her smile mischievously. 'A new girl, eh? Perfect! Just what this island needed! I can put my match making skills to the test and hook Mr. Frowns-a-lot cowboy Vaughn and the new girl up together!' She giggled to herself and Mirabelle gave her a funny look but Julia ignored it. "We should bring Vaughn as well! He could do with trying to at least make an effort to be friends with the newest addition to the islands!" Julia stated, looking like she was plotting something or rather though she had to stop herself from chuckling when Mirabelle seemed to miss the fact she had something in mind for this new girl and a certain cowboy and merely smiled.
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"Right! I do agree, Vaughn could use with a friend or two; I know Vaughn is friends with you and Sabrina, though he could do with so much more! The more the merrier!" Mirabelle stated in a peppy manner and then with that she and Julia were off to go drag Vaughn out of the animal pastor despite his protests of wanting nothing to do with some new girl to the island, probably picking up on what Julia was planning, though in the end Julia was smiling triumphantly, Mirabelle humming to herself as she walked, and a frowning Vaughn being pulled by his hands by Julia.
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It is said somewhere that the first thing you notice about a person is their eyes, well this held true for Vaughn, the first thing he noticed about the new girl stepping off of the giant boat and onto the sand was her captivating blue eyes. Vaughn quickly pulled his hat down as the new girl looked in his direction, probably concerned as to why he had just been staring at her.
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"Oh." Chelsea said, as if awestruck at the four people that now stood before her, she had been lost in a magical land of her own day dreams and she hadn't noticed the approach of Taro, Mirabelle, Julia and Vaughn. The reason why Chelsea's day dream shattered abruptly was the flash of amethyst is was a color Chelsea always liked as a child, in act amethyst was the only gem she allowed on any of the many jewelry she received as presents from her parents. The amethyst color belonged to the eyes of a young male with white hair with a hat atop his head, pulled slightly down and he wore this get-up of what seemed to be like what a cowboy would wear. Though Chelsea's gaze was diverted rather quickly from the mystery male when a blonde female with a long pony tail ran over to her and extended an arm in front of her, as if expecting Chelsea to reach out and shake it in a greeting, which Chelsea happily obliged.
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"Hello there I am Julia!" Julia greeted out in a friendly manner, shaking Chelsea's hand back before pulling away and smiling brightly. "I am so glad to have another friend to be coming to live on the island!" Her blue eyes glittered with a mixture of emotions, she let out a giggle before saying, "Come on you still need to meet the others! I'll introduce you!" Julia grabbed Chelsea by one of her forearms and pulled her forward, being careful so as not to make Chelsea drop her suitcases with her belongings in them. Julia and Chelsea stopped in front of Vaughn, Mirabelle, and Taro and Julia began introducing them. "This is Taro!" Julia indicated toward the old man with the overalls with a pitchfork in hand, he was had a piece of wheat sticking out of his mouth as he smiled and waved his hand.
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"Howdy there!" Taro said elated as he studied Chelsea, he wondered if she'd make a seasoned farmer, she didn't look to have any experience with farming at all and she seemed rather young as well. He sort of feared that Chelsea might not be up to the task of taking care of Charles's old farm. He knew Chelsea was Charles's sister, even with that fact in mind Chelsea didn't seem to be farm material, in Taro's eyes, at least not yet.
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"Over there, that is Mirabelle!" Julia directed Chelsea's attention toward a rather plump woman with blonde hair much like Julia. "Mirabelle is my mother and she is excited to have you here, all of us are!" She exclaimed with glee, looking back to Chelsea.
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"Oh…ah…that's great…uhm…ah..I'm…Chelsea…and…er…Julia….I don't think all of you are uhm…happy to have me here…" Chelsea's voice was soft, shy even and she stammered over her words, she hadn't been much of a social butterfly when she was little. Her parents kept her inside the mansion and away from people for fear of Chelsea getting kidnapped and held for ransom. Don't get Chelsea's parents wrong, they loved their daughter deeply and they'd pay even all their riches to save her if she was kidnapped, though they rather just lock her away in the confides of the mansion rather than risk their daughter or money, avoiding the whole fiasco together. They loved Chelsea dearly that they'd spend every last penny on her and that was why she was so sheltered when she was younger. That was why she wasn't used to talking to other people, so now here she was stammering like a fool in front of people who she would be living as neighbors to and suddenly Chelsea didn't know if she could do this after all. "I…don't really think…ah.." She mumbled almost to herself trying to speak but failing miserably.
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"Oh?" Julia said in a soft tone of voice, following Chelsea's sea blue gaze toward Vaughn who had his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed looking straight at Chelsea as if he was judging her silently. "Oh Vaughn? Hah, don't mind him; he is sour towards everyone, even me sometimes! Don't let him get to you! He may seem intimidating at times but he is actually a harmless puppy!"
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"I am not." Vaughn whispered haughtily, now glaring at Julia. "I know what you are trying to do Julia, by dragging me here to meet this new girl, I told you, no! No means no! I won't participate in your silly games anymore now if you'll excuse me!" Vaughn turned away from the group and promptly walked off his fists clenched muttering to himself about how this had been a waste of his time and how much he loathed the game Julia was hinting at.
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"Vaughn! You big prick!" Julia yelled at him as the cowboy strode off to who knows where. "Ah…so sorry about that Chelsea, just don't mind him, he must have woken up on the wrong side of the haystack today." Julia's blue eyes focused back on to Chelsea's now confused expression. "So!" Julia suddenly clapped her hands together and looked to Mirabelle and Taro. "Should we get Chelsea settled in for the day and then tomorrow I can introduce her to the villagers! Then after that, Taro you can teach her the basics on farming?"
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"This is alright with me; besides, Chelsea must exhausted, right Chelsea?" Taro inquired, switching his pitchfork to the other hand as he waited for her answer.
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"Actually…I just woke up not to ah….long ago…ah…but….I didn't sleep well at all…." Chelsea admitted in an almost squeaky voice, shying away from Taro and hiding behind Julia holding onto on of her arms, Chelsea was still unsure what to think of Taro, he looked a bit menacing for an old man, holding that sharpened pitchfork with him didn't exactly seem like an inviting message to come and talk with him even though he seemed well mannered. "Yes sleep…..I'd like to ah…sleep…..Julia take me to my farm….ah…er…please?"
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Mirabelle smiled, pleased with that outcome of this little meeting, it seemed Chelsea, even though shy and guarded seemed to be blossoming a little and pulling herself out of her turtle shell so to speak. "Well that settles that, Julia please show Chelsea to her farm. Taro and I have to go and talk to each other for a while, business talk you know." With a wave Mirabelle and Taro both walked off leaving Julia to show Chelsea the farm.
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"Oh…" That was wall Chelsea could say as her new farm came into view. There were polished buildings, painted fresh and new, the fields were clear of any rubbish or weeds. There was a flower field off to the right side full of Chelsea's favorite flowers. "Oh my goodness….my brother Charles…he ah…must of ah cleaned it up?" She beamed as her soft spoken voice filled with pride for her brother.
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"Oh yes Charles, he was quite the fellow! Hah….wait I didn't know you were Charles's sister! That is awesome! To tell you the truth I had a bit of a crush on Charles but then he had to move back home, do you know why? He just upped and left without telling anyone…" Julia trailed off, sorrow clear in her blue eyes.
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Chelsea felt sorrow for Julia, the way Julia spoke of Charles; it seemed to Chelsea that Julia had more than just a crush on Charles. Chelsea had never seen two people fall in love nor had she ever experienced falling in love herself, though she had read about it. Chelsea had always wondered what it was like, to fall, to fall in love. She pondered to herself if she ever would, now that she was away from home, ah right, what was she doing thinking about love right now when Julia was saddened. Chelsea was internally debating on telling Julia about Charles's arranged marriage, it would break Julia's heart and Chelsea would feel awful but it would be horrible of her to lie and cover up the truth, especially if Charles should give her a surprise visit and brought his wife with him, and Julia found out. Then she'd resent Chelsea for her lie so the only option was to tell the truth no matter how much is pained Chelsea to do this to her new friend. "He had an arranged marriage." She whispered, looking down at her feet when saying this, hoping Julia wouldn't be too broken about it.
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"I had my suspicions…." Was all Julia muttered, her voice thick with pain as she swiped at the tears that started to gleam in her blue irises. "I knew something was up the moment I last saw him. When he was sitting in the fields of flowers, his eyes brimming with tears, I had gone over to him and asked what was wrong. He wouldn't say, he just told me he had to go home and that he couldn't ever return to his life on the farm. It crushed me that he wouldn't tell me why or where he was going…..I can only assume he gave you his farm….but anyway….he broke down into sobs and I couldn't help but try to comfort him. I hugged him and cried with him to, he clung to me and told me he didn't want to go and he wanted to stay with me! He said me, not that he wanted to stay on the islands but he wanted to stay with me!" Julia's voice was shaken with agony; still she kept her composure and didn't shed another tear. "Then he asked me to help him fix up his farm…..I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could so I helped him….then…the next day…he was gone….he vanished. I didn't get to say good bye."
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Chelsea's eyes widened as she let her suitcases fall from her numb fingers, she had no idea that all this had happened and she felt guilty for telling Julia about Charles and causing Julia so much heart ache. The truth hurts and Chelsea knew it all too well. "Oh Julia…I had no idea..I'm so sorry. You must have really loved my brother."
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Julia despite all the pain she was feeling smiled half heartedly, "I did, I still do but not as much as before. There is….some one else here that I sort of like. I'll introduce you to him tomorrow! Night Chelsea…also…oh…here…" Julia bent down and scooped up Chelsea's fallen suitcases and handed them to her. "I'll see you tomorrow Chelsea! Good night!" Julia waved a hasty good bye and then left Chelsea to her thoughts.
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Chelsea's mind ran over what had all happened today, she had packed, boarded the ship, slept, and arrived at the islands, met four new people. Julia, the one she felt most comfortable being around. Taro, the old man whom she was unsure of what to think of him, Mirabelle a nice and plump lady, also Julia's mother…and then there was Vaughn…..the white haired amethyst eyed distant and gruff mannered teenager, that she was terrified to the core of. I mean who wouldn't be, the stare he gave her earlier chilled her to the bones. Chelsea shivered and shook her clouded thoughts away. The events that happened today wouldn't seem like much to most people like the busy people living in the cities her parents avoided, but to her it was like a mountain breaking free from the earth, toppling over and landing on her and crushing down upon her without mercy with all its unbearable weight. With a sigh Chelsea made her way inside and switched into a nightgown and promptly flopped onto her new bed without bothering to check what the inside of the house actually looked like. As soon as Chelsea landed on the bed, curled up, pulled the blanket over her and her head slumped onto the pillow, she was out like a light.
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"Vaughn that was rude and rather heartless of you back there!"
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Julia's annoying voice rang through Vaughn's ears as he was lying down on a hay stack trying to get to sleep. He had just been about to slip into slumber when all of a sudden the door slams open and Julia comes in here flipping a storm full of choice words about how cold heartedly he acted toward Chelsea. "Julia…I don't care….I'm tryn' to sleep here now could you get out of here. I know very well what you were trying to pull with dragging me along with you to go see some mystery new girl! You were trying to hook me up with her! Well I won't have it! That Chel-Chel-whatever girl seemed annoying and she couldn't speak without stuttering! What was she raised by mental people?" He huffed out, grumpy that he wasn't able to get to sleep now with Julia's constant scolding of how inconsiderate he was.
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"How could you say that?!" Julia gasped rather take a back by Vaughn's comment. "Sabrina stutters as well and you don't say that about her!" She retorted giving Vaughn a disgusted glare. "You just….you know what! Whatever! I tried helping you Vaughn! I guess you are just a lost cause! I've done all that I can because if you believe it or not you are like family to me Vaughn! I only want you to be happy and I thought that finding someone that will help you open up and give you a reason to smile and be happy would do you good! But I guess I was WRONG!" Julia slammed the door as she left, hard, she had officially had put up with Vaughn enough, as of today.
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Vaughn sat up as Julia slammed the door his amethyst eyes now wide and full of guilt. "Ah, Vaughn, what have you done?" He sighed and pulled his hat down, hiding his face even though now one was around: it was still a force of habit to him. "You screwed up something fierce." He told himself as he let himself fall back down onto the haystack; he stared up at the ceiling. He honestly didn't mean to make Julia that upset, nor had he not meant what he said about Chelsea. She seemed okay for the most part, the only reason Vaughn said what he did was because he was tired and had a long and difficult day. What with the animals having been spooked with last night's storm, Vaughn had spent the better part of his night trying desperately to get the animals to shelter and it had tired him out. He hadn't slept at all last night, what with being soaked and chilled to the bone, how could he have slept. Luckily for him by the time the hour rolled around to go see Chelsea, Vaughn's clothed had dried, unlucky for him he all knew it was just a ploy by Julia to try and hook Chelsea and him together and Vaughn didn't appreciate the gesture. "Way to go, cowboy." Vaughn scolded himself as his eyelids closed and he let sleep come for him.
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Author's note
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How did you like it? Please read and review! Also poor Vaughn, having to go through all that bull with the storm! No wonder he was extra grumpy and also more back story revealed about Chelsea and her brother Charles! I hope you like this chapter! More to come soon! And yes I love a shy Chelsea! Don't worry as Chelsea makes friends her true personality will shine through and she won't always be this shy! Though she will still be shy as all get out when near Vaughn. Ohoohoho boy! This will be fun!