Title: Lovely Discovery

Pairing: Owen x Angela

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon is not mine and I claim no ownership of the characters or setting!

Rating: T

Author's Note: I'm sorry for not updating! I had a small surgery (getting wisdom teeth out). I feel so guilty, but I'm going to keep trying to upload as often as I can! Please hang in there and maybe, just maybe, there will be a few more chapters! :D

(Oh, and yes, I'll go back and fix all the typos once the story is done. I miss a lot of them…I try to check, though!)

-START-

The next day came with a bright sun and a small breeze that made everything refreshing. The whole island was fragrant with the subtle smell of nature. All the animals awoke from a comfortable sleep and began to make noise to let their owner know they were hungry. Angela was still in bed. After an exhausting night of planning with Luke and gushing about the news of Owen liking her, she'd fallen asleep. Finn awoke at his normal time and tried to wake her. By the time that he'd finally roused her up, it was two hours later than her usual awakening. When the girl managed to form words, she begged Finn to take care of the animals so she could sleep in.

"I'm not doing it again!" the fairy said, defiantly turning his head away from the stirring lump beneath the thick comforters of her bed. "I've already taken care of your animals for days! I can only take so much!"

"Finn, please….?" Angela begged from beneath the covers, refusing to lift her face from her pillow. "I was up so late talking to Luke that I'm exhausted. Can you just give the animals some food?"

The sprite faced her with his arms crossed.

"I'm very happy about hearing that Owen likes you back," he said with a half-hearted smile that didn't last for more than a few seconds. "But I'm not going to do your chores again! The animals miss you and yesterday Renee walked past the farm while I was using your sickle to try and cut some grass. I'm pretty sure she's convinced this place is haunted now."

"Hm…" Angela hummed, sitting up and yawning. She stretched and looked tiredly at Finn. At this point, it was almost less exhausting to just do the work rather than argue with him. Also, he did have a valid point. She needed to make up for making him do her chores for so long. Wearing pink pajamas, she nodded and walked outside to face the glittering sun and shimmering ocean.

Day six rolled in without any problems.

The sky was clear and the temperature was balmy. Her animals were happy and gave her products of amazing quality after she'd fed them and petted their fur. Every time she laid her eyes on a Shining product, she felt a little weepy. Money made the world go round, and he farm was no exception. She watered and harvested merrily, even managing to get some honey from her large flower garden. What was even better was knowing that she had talked with Owen over the phone two days ago and knew that they had come to and understanding. After a few days, they could see each other. He wouldn't surprise her on her farm again when she wasn't expecting it.

They could be together by the end of the week. Until then, he'd agreed not to see her. She'd thanked him and thanked every possible deity she knew existed that he'd understood her.

After her morning chores, she got dressed happily. The girl donned a summery outfit that would make her feel as light and airy as her mood. She wore the outfit she'd arrived in when she first came to the island. A yellow shirt, red and white camisole and boots made for farming.

She sat down at a beach near her house and slowly began to drift back to sleep. She was still tired from the night before. Within seconds she was leaning against the log and sleeping soundly, dreaming of the day she'd first met the man of her dreams.

XOXOXOXOXO

Angela had only arrived a day ago and already the island had thrown a mighty obstacle at her. The bridge to the mining district was broken and she had to run around finding food for the young carpenter in order to have it fixed. Thankfully, she knocked out the task in a day and woke up to find Bo at her door. He happily stated all the repairs were completely finished.

She looked across the wooden structure with pure awe before darting across it anxiously. With Finn constantly nagging her about reaching the Goddess Spring, she raced onward with a sense of urgency she'd never felt before. She ran into the Garmon Mining District and stopped to take everything in. She even saw Finn's mouth drop at the sight. Everything was so industrial and grand that Angela felt humble in the location. It wasn't long before she'd met everyone, visited the Harvest Goddess and found out about her first problem on the island; the Red Bell.

Before she knew what was happening, she was shoved in the direction of the Garmon Mines. Everyone told her to find a guy named Owen.

The old blacksmith had told her to look for a man with red hair and a black shirt who was very tall. As soon as she walked inside the dark tomb and saw him pounding away at a mound of material stone, she knew she'd found her target. She put her arms behind her back and crept up to him daintily, smiling. He sure was a hard worker! It looked like he'd never stop swinging the hammer. With one tap on the shoulder, she got his attention.

"Hi," she said, smiling and waving at him as he turned to face her. He was sweaty and covered in different kinds of grime. She didn't mind in the slightest. After all, it was because he was working at his job, after all. "I'm Angela! I run the farm over by the ocean! Are you Owen, by any chance?"

At first, she was frightened by how angry he looked. When he heard her introduction, however, a smile dominated his visage and a wave of relief consumed her.

"Hey," he greeted, rolling his sore shoulders. "Angela, was it? I'm Owen, and I work at the smithy! It's nice to see a new face on this island! How do you do?"

"Just fine, thanks!" she said, laughing at how cheery he was. He seemed so nice. "Hey, people told me to come meet you. Are you a miner?"

"Basically," he said, scratching the back of his neck at he motioned to the mound of stone he was beating. "I get all the ores for Gramps. You met him, right? He's actually my uncle, but he's also my boss! I'm almost done with my daily quote though, so I'll be stopping soon."

"Ah," she said with a content smile, looking over what he'd gathered. It was a lot. Did he honestly gather so much in just one day? It was only a few hours into the morning. There had to be at least fifty ores before her, all from iron to expensive gold! What in the world was this man? He must have been exhausted. She remembered that she had her rucksack on her and reached inside. "Say, I have some water with me! I always carry water wherever I go when it's hot outside. I have an extra bottle. Please, take it."

She held it out to him. After turning it down politely, she insisted he take it so that he'd stay hydrated. He eventually gave in. She smiled when she saw the speed that he'd gulped it down. The poor man appeared to have been incredibly thirsty. He'd down the whole thing in a large swallow. She smiled as he thanked her amply.

"S-Sorry," he said, blushing a tad. "We got off topic. What did ya need, exactly?"

"I just wanted to meet you," she said, suddenly realizing she'd distracted him from work. She panicked and bowed apologetically. "Oh, Owen I'm so sorry! You were working and I interrupted you! I shouldn't have bothered you when you were mining…"

"It was no trouble," he said, standing and smiling at her. "You ended up helping me! That water was great. Thanks, Angela."

She felt her cheeks get warm. She nodded and was about to leave when he called to her. She turned around and saw him coming at her with a hammer. She blinked and lifted a brow, poking the foreign item. She'd never used a hammer before. Well, she'd used a small one to make repairs before, but not one specifically for mining.

"Here," he said, grinning broadly at her. "In order to expand your house, you'll need material stone and money. Mining is a really resourceful thing to for some extra cash. I just happened to have this old hammer with me. I'm not using it anymore, so please take it."

"Really?" she asked, taking it into her hand. It was heavy. She almost fell over, but Owen caught her waist. She blushed. He chuckled.

"Heavy, huh?" he asked, only letting go if her when he saw she was standing sturdily again. "You'll get used to it. Even if you don't like mining, it's always useful to have just in case you want a few ores or gems. If you have enough ore refined, you can upgrade your tools. That might interest you, considering that you're a farmer…"

She nodded and tucked it away.

"T-Thanks…" she said, not knowing what to say. "Well…I have some stuff to do. I have to go, but I'll see you later, right? This town is small, after all."

"Right," he agreed with a hearty laugh. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

XOXOXOXOXO

Angela was awoken by the sound of a crashing wave. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the sky had suddenly become cloudy and dark. The waves were creeping closer and closer inland, more than they were supposed to on a normal basis. It didn't take Angela more than a few seconds to realize that a thunderstorm was brewing. She got up and ran home just as a loud boom of thunder echoed through the previously sunny skies. With a quick peek, she saw that her animals were fine. She soared inside her farmhouse and locked the door.

"Geez," she said, looking outside at the dangerous lightening that was exploding across the sky. Finn ducked behind her shoulder. He'd stayed inside while she'd gone out to tend to the animals and was thankful she was safe indoors. While Finn was busy being thankful, Angela looked up at the sky with complete bewilderment. "It was beautiful earlier! I must have slept a long time. Thank goodness I got inside."

From her front window, she could see the top of the Garmon Mine. Just as she turned away, a peculiar flash caught her attention. It was followed by a loud boom that was much too distinct to be thunder. It sounded like splintering rock. She'd seen a bolt strike the top of the mine and create a huge hole in the side. With wide eyes, she watched the mine cave-in diagonally, taking out some upper floors.

"The mines!" she screamed, pressing her face against the glass. The top was still fine, but one side was completely destroyed. "Oh…no..."

"It looks like the avalanche fell away from the town!" the fairy told her over her shoulder. "I don't think it was damaged."

Angela was about to agree when her phone rang. Refusing to waste time, she darted across the room and pulled the received against her ear, fearing what she would hear from the other side. "H-Hello?"

The voice belonged to Ramsey.

"Angela…" he said, speaking in a rushed and fearful voice.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning white. "You sound out of breath! What happened?"

"Angela, there's someone stuck in the mine," he said, not taking a single breath the entire time he spoke. "I hate to ask, but you're the only one outside of this district who can help!"

"Yes, I'll come! Oh no…it's Owen, isn't it?"

"Not Owen. Chloe."

XOXOXOXOXO

Dozens of people gathered at the entrance of the mine only to find that it was halfway blocked by boulders. Angela could see from a distance that some people had already entered and come out, finding it too dusty to press onward. Phoebe and Calvin were sitting on the ground, both covered in grime and coughing into tissues. Angela, hammer in hand, ran to them with Finn soaring over her shoulder. The pelting rain was so cold that it felt blistering against her exposed skin. She'd run straight from her house, not even bothering to change into warmer clothes. It was too urgent of a matter for her to waste any unnecessary time.

"Guys, are you okay?" Angela asked, kneeling beside the couple. Phoebe seemed unharmed aside from being a little dirty, but Calvin had a sprawling black bruise on his arm. Angela could only assume a rock got him during the downslide and he went to protect Phoebe. "What happened?"

"We went inside to get Chloe," the girl coughed out, eyes glassy. "But she's too far in! We had to clear out before it got really bad…"

"Owen's still in there," Calvin coughed out, reaching over to wipe some duct over Phoebe's cheek. "He kept going to find Chloe!"

"Did he head to the upper or lower?" Angela asked frantically, swinging her hammer over her shoulder.

"We think the upper part, but we're not sure…"

"I'll find them," she said with a firm nod. She was doing her best to seem as brave as possible, but they could see how nervous and frightened she was. Still, Angela had no choice. Next to Owen and Ramsey, she was the most accomplished miner on the island. Ramsey was forced to stay out due to his age, which meant Angela was the last hope. Besides, she loved Owen, and she loved Chloe.

She'd die before she'd let anything bad happen to them.

Without another word, she ran inside the mine, rushing up the stairs as carefully and as quickly as possible. She flashed back to the day almost a week ago when she'd been climbing the mines, simply trying to impress Owen. Now, she was urgently rushing through those same, dizzying floors to assist him. It was like a cruel joke.

Within hours of going as fast as she could while avoiding cracks and gases, she'd cleared the first twenty floors. There was no sign on either Chloe or Owen. She didn't hear any sounds from floors above either. Frustration and exhaustion began to slowly creep up on her. She decided to take a rest on a piece of solid ground and regain a bit of strength. She would have hit the hot springs, but there was no time. Besides, they appeared to be somewhat destroyed. That made things even more difficult.

"Angela, I'll fly up a few floors and see if I can find one of them," Finn told the girl, seeing that her determination and strength were fading. The fairy soared upwards and flew through the narrow staircases, each filled with loose dust and crumbling walls. Angela took the moment to eat some food she had stored in her rucksack to regain some energy. Once she finished her quick meal, Finn flew to meet her with a somewhat elated look on his face.

"Angela! I found Owen! He's near the very top. There's a huge boulder in the way! Chloe must be on one of the top levels. It was sealed off by the cave-in."

Angela became happy. So Owen was okay, thank goodness. However, Chloe was still missing. They didn't know if she was in an open space or trapped under rubble. If they didn't hurry, she could run out of oxygen. Angela stood and followed Finn, not wasting a second. "It's almost midnight, Angela!" Finn told her. They'd been in the mines for so long that she'd lost track of time.

It was almost the seventh day.

The final day.

She broke through boulder after boulder with strength she didn't know she possessed. She flew up the next ten floors with ease because the stairs hadn't been destroyed in the disaster. She was thankful for that. Eventually, she heard the steady sound of a hammer pounding against a surface. In the hazy dark, she could barely make out the shape of a tall man, hissing and seething with pure anger and frustration. She recognized him in an instant. Before she could move, one last swing sent him hunching to the ground. A pained sound escaped him.

The temptation to cover her mouth to keep dust out of her lungs vanished in a millisecond.

"O…Owen!"

-END-

Wow…it just got real.

R&R if you can, and I hope you enjoyed! Flames are welcomed as long as it has to do with my writing and not the characters or game (because I didn't make those, you know…?)

See you all soon! :D