First part is a bit of fluff. The second part may be a bit confusing but it'll play into the story.

Books were a means of escape for Mary Barnes. They would take her away from Mineral Town to far away exotic places. As long as she could remember, reading had been a source of comfort. Mary had not quite turned out to be what her mother had hoped. Anna Barnes had so many lofty dreams for her baby girl. When Anna had been younger she'd been known as quite a beauty, and fashionista. Mary had been more interested in her stories than anything else. Mary was not the stunning beauty her mother had been. She wore thick framed black glasses, and had her black hair always in a rather loose braid. Mary wasn't concerned about how she looked. She had opted to take over the library. A librarian certainly did not need to win any beauty contests. She at the desk of the library, thumbing through an old book her father had brought her. While Mary's mother found her only daughter rather disappointing, Basil, her father, was incredibly proud of the young woman Mary had become. He praised her intelligence. They would often have long talks about different literary subjects. Unfortunately for Mary, her father was often out researching, so she was left with her mother instead. She sighed heavily. She entered the book's information into the new computer her father had recently bought. The jingle bells she'd adorned on the door sounded the alarm for a visitor. She was surprised to see a blond haired girl walk in. Usually it was only the blacksmith's apprentice who came to the library, Mary was certain he came out of pity. If she'd been a different girl, she may have developed a crush, but Mary found those types of things frivolous. She assumed this blonde girl was one of the new farmers in the valley. Mary had heard about the two newcomers, then again very few people hadn't.

"Good afternoon," Mary greeted with a smile on her face. "My name is Mary, I'm the librarian here." The girl's blue gaze turned to her.

"I am Claire. I can't tell you how glad I am that you have a library here!" Claire exclaimed. Her eyes twinkled with elation.

"It's not much..." Mary said. She'd heard from Karen, her friend at the store, that the two new girls used to live in the city. Certainly her snail library couldn't compare to what was in the city. Mary had developed the collection greatly over the past four years since taking over, but it was certainly nothing that could compare to a large city's library.

"It's wonderful!" Claire exclaimed. She clasped her hands under her chin. This reminded her of the small library in her hometown. How she would love to go and hear stories read by the old librarian there. When she grew older she would spend hours at the library getting lost in books.

"Anything in particular you looking for?" Mary asked.

"This," Claire replied with a sweeping motion of her hand. "I was looking for this." Mary couldn't quite tell if the girl was being serious or just mocking her, but the sentiment sounded genuine. "There's nothing like the being around books. I love the feel of the pages between your fingers, the sound the page makes when you turn it, and the smell of print paper."

"I agree," Mary replied. It was as if the girl had read her mind, and spoke her own thoughts aloud. No one had ever understood what she felt. She'd been dubbed "The Bookworm," by so many people. The term had been meant as an insult, not a compliment. While Mary had a few friends in Mineral Town, not one of them understood her love of books.

"So what have you got here?" Claire asked.

"A whole hodgepodge of everything," Mary answered. "Feel free to wander around anywhere. And if you have any questions please let me know." Claire smiled, and wandered over to the section labelled "Basil's," Where there appeared to be many hand-bound books. "Oh those are all written by my father. He's a botanist. He's studied all the plants in this area and surrounding areas. If you're looking for more exciting ones, fiction is upstairs."

"Is it all right if I look at these?" Claire asked pointing to Basil's books. Mary was shocked at the question. Of the few people who were patrons of the library, no one had ever asked to look at her father's books."

"Absolutely!" Mary replied cheerily.

Claire settled herself into a chair with a few hand bound books. She found it fascinating that Mary's father comprised all the information. He had carefully handwritten most of the content. It also included sketches, and pressed samples of different plants. When the bell jingled again, she was absorbed in reading about edible plants. She had never realized how many plants were in fact edible. She looked up in to see Gray walking in. She didn't move a muscle. It was evident he didn't see her sitting in the corner. She surreptitiously watched him interact with the librarian.

"I got a new book today," Mary said happily. She held up a worn looking book to show Gray.

"That is wonderful news," Gray stated. He was trying to sound as excited as she was. Mary was one of the sweetest people Gray knew. He felt bad no one ever came to the library, so he would come in the afternoons, after his shift. Quiet Mary was always good at picking out books for him to read.

He noticed a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye. Gray's attention turned to the small blond farmer. He groaned inwardly, he had only interacted twice with her. The first time he'd made an ass out of himself, and the second had been almost painfully awkward. She looked up from the book she was reading and smiled. He quickly looked away, realizing instantly that social convention dictates he should have smiled back. Well it was too late now, if he smiled back now he'd look like an idiot. He wasn't sure what it was about her that made him so awkward.

"I picked out a new book for you to read," Mary said. She set the book in front of him, then continued with the book she was cataloging. Gray smirked, he wondered if Mary even recognized that men existed. From all the years he'd known her, she had never expressed any interest in dating. Unlike the other girls on town, Mary would rather work on the novels she wrote, or read a book than worry about boys. It was one of the reasons why the girls usually liked Mary, she was never a threat.

Gray turned to the chairs. As much as he wanted to sit and read, he dreaded the idea of possibly making himself look stupider in front of the new farmer. He settled himself into one of the chairs next to Claire.

"Good afternoon, "Claire said with a smile.

"Uh, hey, " Gray replied. He was not accustomed to having anyone talk to him while he was in the library other than Mary. Mary was one of the least intimidating people that he knew. So talking to Mary, came easily to him. But Claire, she was another story. Something about Claire struck him as elegant. For that reason, Gray felt like an awkward country boy around her. Perhaps it was the fact that she had come from the city, or perhaps it was that fact that she seem to have a natural beauty about her. Gray had noticed Claire's beauty the minute she had walked in the blacksmith shop. And even though at the time he'd been furious with his grandfather, he had still seen the beautiful girl in front of him. Gray knew from experience, however, that beautiful girls cannot be trusted. The two girls he'd ever dated in his life, had made him cynical towards affairs of the heart. First there had been Aja, her parents owned the local winery. Aja could not stand being around her parents or living in a place like Mineral town. So one day without even so much as a goodbye to him or anyone else, she left. That have been four years ago and Gray and never forgiven her for it. Then they had been Popuri the little pink haired chicken farmer had consoled him when Aja had left. He had started to really feel a connection to her, when she announced that she was not in love with Gray. She told him that she was in love with another man. The man happens to be Gray's best friend Kai. After those two experiences, Gray shied away from any beautiful woman. Mary was actually beautiful in her own right, but Mary was not awkard as so many girls were. Thankfully Claire turned back to her book instead of pursuing further conversation with him.

OOOOO

Hamilton Blake sat in Waffle Town's one restaurant/ inn / bar. There was a beautiful dancer dancing on stage. She had been dancing at the Inn for years. A young barmaid with bright orange hair came up to him.

"Hi my name's Dakota," the girl said cheerily. "What can I get for you?" Hamilton eyes roamed over the young girl's form. It had now been a few weeks since he'd had the company of a woman. This girl was young enough to be his granddaughter, but he didn't care. She was stunning.

"Just a beer," Hamilton replied. He needed to have his wits about him, if he were going to get anywhere. The girl promptly returned with the house brew. Catching her hand before she could leave his table he smiled at her. "Little girl, do you know who I am?"

"I heard you are Vivian's grandpa," Dakota replied. She tried to pull herself away from him, but he held his grasp tight.

"I am much more than that, I am quite famous you know," Hamilton informed. He let go of the girl's hand, she let out a forced smile then left. Hamilton glared at the girl. Back when he was on top, he would have easily been able to get any girl he wanted. He needed to get out of this town and start looking for the girls. But no one here was giving him any information! The rejection from this girl had infuriated him. He had been used to women being impressed by his status and his money. Here on Waffle Island no one seemed to care.

Dakota Watson was a bit creeped out by the attention that was being paid her from Vivian's grandpa all evening. The man was old enough to be her grandfather, but was still hitting on her. It made her shiver. She ducked into the kitchen before she left to speak with her father who was the cook at the bar.

"Daddy," Dakota stated. "That Hamilton guy is giving me the creeps." Her father laughed.

"Ah he's just an old man, pay him no mind," her father Chase replied. Dakota sighed and gathered her things.

"Ok I will see you at home!" Dakota replied.

"I'll be leaving here in fifteen minutes."

"Make sure you're not too late, you know how mama gets!" Dakota chastised lightly.

"It's alright, I will just bring her something sweet home, and she won't care," Chase mused. Dakota giggled. This was true. Her mother was a glutton for sweets. Dakota swung her small jacket over her shoulder and waved goodbye to her father. She was grateful to see that Hamilton was gone from the dining room. She did not want to have to deal with his advances any more.

While walking through the Maple Lake District Dakota felt a shiver go through her body. She couldn't explain the feeling, but she felt as if she were being followed. She turned around, but saw nothing. It was dark, but that had never bothered her before. Dakota was used to walking home in the dark after work. When she turned back around she stumbled right into Hamilton, who grabbed her by the arms.

"Little girls such as yourself shouldn't be out here in the dark, it's dangerous," Hamilton said ominously. Dakota went to scream, but Hamilton was too quick. Give him his credit he was a fast man. She felt a cloth over her mouth and smelt a strange odor on the cloth. She felt herself slowly slipping into unconsciousness. She struggled to stay awake, but succumed to the darkness.

Dakota woke up to find herself handcuffed to a strange bed. She could hear loud sounds of cars honking and people talking outside the window that was close to her. The shades were drawn and she could not reach the window to open them up. Her heart started pounding in fear, the last thing she remembered was walking home from work and running into Hamilton. A sinking feeling hit her in the pit of her stomach. She knew that she wasn't on Waffle Island anymore.