It was beautiful.

The small house with a red roof seemed to sparkle in Marchen's eyes as she approached it. It wasn't that far a walk from Town Hall, just a mere walk down the hill, and yet, surrounded by trees and flowers with the waterfall nearby, only a nearby house reminded her of the fact that yes, she was still in the same world.

Marchen carefully pulled the door open and was met with a log cabin like feel with wallpaper that truly looked as if logs and an opulent rug that seemed to make the place even cozier. An old cassette player sat lonesomely in a corner while a small cardboard box with a candle and holder on top rested opposite to it.

Smiling slightly behind her mask, Marchen lit the candle as to see the place better. As the flame came to life the light spread out across the room, illuminating the dusty emptiness.

Nothing a little cleaning wouldn't fix, she decided.

She decided to head back to the Hall as so to tell Pelly which house was hers.

As soon as Marchen opened the door again, though, she almost immediately shut it if not for the paw that held on tightly to the door, trying to keep the door from closing completely.

"Wait, Marchen!" this new voice rang out. "I'm here about finalizing your house documents!"

She stopped tugging on the front door in surprise that the ther knew her name. Unfortunately, the poor racoon had pulled with all his strength and flew backwards onto his rump. Embarrassed, the girl helped him back onto his feet, refusing to meet his eyes.

Tom Nook smiled.

"It's okay, Rover told me about you," he said. "Welcome to Eichel! My name is Tom Nook, and I run a shop here in town. I look forward to your patronage there, hm?"

She nodded. A couple seconds passed before Nook added, "So how was the house, hm? You are liking it very much, aren't you?" She nodded again, a bit more energetically. It was wonderful in every which way she could think of.

"Good, good," he said, business smile on. "So, you will be buying this house, yes?"

Another nod, this one a bit more hopeful.

"Well, then, that settles it!" he said. "From now on, this is your house, Marchen. Ah, and think of that stereo as a moving in gift from Tom, hm?"

The girl bowed gratefully, not noticing the salesman's mumbles of not being able to sell the old thing anyway.

"Ah, and have you seen the attic? There's a bed up there, so make sure to use it, alright? Also, there's a delicate issue of payment..."

Ah, reality, why must you be so cruel?

Marchen could feel herself paling as the very thought of money crossed her mind. She'd used the last of it in her effort to even reach Eichel. What was she going to do if she couldn't stay? Her mind blanked out as Nook listed all the costs she'd have to pay to keep this precious house.

"..al is 19,800 bells!" he finished cheerily.

Unfortunately, the masked girl in front of him seemed to be having a mini heart attack.

"Ah, don't worry about paying it all off at once. You can pay it all off at your own pace."

He could see her slowly relax a bit.

"But..." She tensed up again. "...this is a business for me, so keep in mind that I'd like you to pay it off sometime, okay?"

She nodded quite panickedly, Nook smilng slightly at the display until another thought crossed his mind.

"That said, I have a question for you, Marchen." She looked up at him. "How do you plan to make a living here?"

And quite suddenly, the floor was the most interesting thing in the world.

"I see, then... How about working part-time at my shop, hm? That way you can learn the in's and out's of making money, hm?"

Suddenly he found his paws help by her tiny hands, shaking them up and down in wordless thanks.

"Very good, then it's decided. Well I can't leave my shop unattended forever, so let's get down to brass tacks. First off, why don't you introduce yourself to everybody in town? Oh! And make especially sure to introduce yourself to the mayor, hm? He should be in Town Hall, so don't forget!"

He looked over at the small girl twiddling her fingers.

"I told you previously that Rover had told me about you, yes?"

She nodded.

"He also told me why you moved here."

There was a slight hesitation before her eyes lifted off the floor. Reluctantly, she looked him, understanding what the racoon was trying to say. Biting her lip, she nodded in confirmation.

"Very good. I'll get some work ready, so come by the shop later, okay?"

Marchen nodded then waved goodbye as the clerk headed back to his shop. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself, eyeing the only other house nearby where she (now, she added giddily) lived.

She walked up to the door. Taking one more deep breath, she forced her hand to knock softly on the door.

She waited a bit before she realized that there was no response. She tried again only for the results to repeat themselves.

Maybe they weren't home?

Giving up, Marchen turned around only to run into the lion from the Hall, staring at her in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?"

She panicked. What was she supposed to say? In a flash of inspiration, she pointed towards her new house.

The lion's jaw merely dropped.

"You've got to be kidding me."

[Timeline] Same day as last chapter

[Actual game play] Friday, August 26th, 2011

Explanations:

[Opulent Rug] Opulent means fancy, but the actual Opulent Rug in the game is pretty homey/plain. Still, for the people who actual play, I thought that it'd be less confusing.

[Stereo] I'm pretty sure it was a cassette player, but I could be wrong.

[Brass Tacks] I have idea what this means, but that's what he says, so...

[Same Day as last chapter] The first things are the things that influence you the most. So even though I am really way behind right now, eventually I'll catch up.