Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or its characters (although, I wish I did).
Author's Note: Hello, my lovelies! Here is the latest update on A Paper Town for A Paper Girl (thank you, John Green for making such a lovely quote that could pertain to the story). I'll be getting onto How To Save A Life soon and I've got a majority of it already written, I've just had a block channeling Gill and Minerva and Molly has become a frequent visitor in the head. I do have to say thank anyone that is reading this and I hope that you stay tuned for everything that comes ~
It was an odd but sensational feeling being with her parents, brother, and friends. People that she was sure were worrying and missing her back home and possibly wondering where she had gone and why. She could imagine what her mother was doing, sitting at the dining room table with a piping hot cup of coffee in-between her hands while Philip was at her side and her father would be standing away from them with a sorry expression on his face despite going along and agreeing with her idea. They were probably angry, upset, and confused and so many more things that would usually flip her entire being upside down. Though, she couldn't blame them for being who they were and keeping things hidden. It was a way to protect her from whatever they thought could hurt her but Dad, he was another case. He believed that she deserved to know and he did, going as far as to show her the certificates and who they had gone through to get her when she was hardly two weeks old.
A sigh left her lips, a hand running through the cropped auburn hair that didn't exactly touch her shoulders but lingered an inch or two above them in a messy array because it would never exactly cooperate. In the beginning, she had found it funny that there were no other passengers on the ship but everything was cleared up by the captain. Pascal said that not many people had come to Castanet since the elements had gone a bit wonky. He went on to explain everything in a slight southern drawl and she listened intently, curious about the world that Castanet was and why things had suddenly turned upside down for the people and the land.
"So, Ms. Braun, how are you enjoyin' your voyage?" the voice was all too familiar as the older man took a seat beside her, the pipe in his hands instead of between his lips and the same smile that she had seen on the dock was plastered onto his face.
"I told you, don't call me Ms. Braun. Molly is just fine," she countered, her voice slightly hoarse from yelling over the sounds of a disturbed ocean. ""The voyage is just fine, though. A little rocky but c'est la vie."
He looked at her knowingly, nodding his head before popping the pipe between his lips and taking a puff. They sat in silence for a bit, looking out to the sea with a vacancy in their eyes that couldn't truly be described to the proper extent that people would want it to be. Yet, the silence didn't prevail and Pascal shifted slightly and turned to look at her once more. "The port that we would usually use is currently dangerous to try to even get too. We're going to take you to another and from there, a farmer by the name of Cain will help you get to the farm."
She didn't ask but gave a half-smile and a salute to indicate that she had understood what he had said. Pascal got up and returned to his quarter, stirring the boat in the right direction so that they wouldn't have to wait another day to get to her new home.
It took an hour and a half to make port at the nearest location, the sea wasn't quite as treacherous here but was still pretty dangerous which didn't instill any hope in Molly after taking a life threatening rowboat ride to shore. The soft sand underneath her feet gave her a sense of relief, wiping a hand across her brow and giving a half-hearted smile at the participants that dragged the bags that she couldn't carry behind them. It was something that she would have to work on, she had always been the softer one and didn't quite have the look that was needed for labor. Angela, her best friend had the look and a sudden sense of longing lodged itself in her chest. She missed the dark-browned hair girl with her boyish figure and feisty attitude, always getting into brawls with the others to make it clear that she was the alpha of their group.
The way up to the hill where Cain was waiting was an easy hike, the sand was surprisingly lenient and didn't work against the shoes of the group and Cain whistled at the improvement before letting out a hearty laugh. Molly would have said something, how she had hiked over a mountain every day to visit the people in Konohana instead of using the tunnel because she liked the scenery or how she could catch fish with her bare hands like a pro. Heck, she would have said anything to make him stop laughing and give her a look of improvement.
"Well, it is sure nice to finally meet you, Miss... What was it again?" that was his greeting, his voice a smooth baritone that was laced with friendliness. His eyes didn't meet hers and an eyebrow arched as she extended a hand, "Molly Sophia Braun or just Molly," she retorted happily.
He took her hand, shaking it gently as if he was afraid that he'd hurt her. She could understand that with mild annoyance, her physique was small and delicate while his was bigger with muscles that you only saw in an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Dark blue eyes met her honey brown that lingered for a little too long, and took leave to toss her things in the back of the cart. Pascal had come ashore for a moment, giving her a quick hug goodbye because he had to make another trip across the unruly ocean with his small crew that also bid her farewell without a hug or a quick peck to the cheek. That was alright, she didn't quite like them as much as she liked Pascal. He reminded her of her grandfather, they'd probably get along and she would write to him as soon as she could to tell her that all was well without giving away any vital information that would allow them to find her.
"Well, Ms. Molly. If you'd just hop up right here," he began with a slight pat to the nicely polished wood of his cart, a smile spread out across his face as he continued, "and we'll be on our way to your farm."
She didn't know what else to do. He had made his way to the seat of the cart, gathering the reins and keeping the horse still as she tried her hardest to get onto the cart. It took several tries and she waved him onward as her chest heaved up and down, she had never had that much trouble in her entire life especially with a cart. A little crack of the reins and the cart lugged forward, Cain humming ever so lightly to keep the silence at bay as she leaned up against the hay.
"So, what brings you here to Castanet?" he looked back, knowing the route all too well. The horse didn't even have to be told where they were going, he knew exactly where they were heading because they had done it a thousand times before. "I needed a change of scenery. Home was getting a little too dull," she replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders.
They were silent once more, he had returned to his humming while shooting glances at the girl that was laying against the hay, letting it get tangled in her hair while her eyes were closed. Molly reminded him so much of his own daughter that was waiting at the farm or fishing with Toby, making him grimace slightly at the thought of his baby girl going off with that fisherman. The girl's information had been passed around the island without delay, Hamilton had been so excited about her arrival that he was even waiting at the farm for her. She came from Bluebell, he and Hanna had been once before Renee was born and her parents were both in the business of farming (or at least one was and the other was a florist, close enough, right?) and older brother that was following in their footsteps. As Cain learned, Molly hadn't really been focused on anything - she was a bit more headstrong, willful, but had never truly helped around the farm unless it was utterly needed. She preferred knowledge, teaching, and the grandeur of magic for she had befriended the Oracle.
The remainder of the ride had been spent in silence, she had fallen asleep and he had hummed the tune to a song that he had heard over the radio. Cain steadied the horse and the cart came to a halt, but the girl was still asleep and snoring ever so lightly because her position didn't seem all that comfortable. He could see Hamilton in the distance, standing close to the disheveled shack that he was giving Molly Sophia Braun at the "generous" cost of 5000 gold pieces.
"Miss Molly, we're here," his voice was something that jolted her awake along with his gentle touch on her bare knee. Her cheeks flushed a dark red and she buried her face in her hands for a moment, how embarrassing of her to do this in front of a complete stranger. Cain was a real gentleman, helping her off the back of the cart and grabbing the bags that she could carry for her. Like at home, he could leave his things unattended because no one would steal, and if they did - he would know how to get his items back without having to go to the authorities which in the back of her mind, doubted that they had any at all since Bluebell nor Konohana did. That sort of business was dealt between the perpetrator and the victim, and sometimes ended with a quick visit to the clinic where Ayame and Hiro could stitch you up in a jiffy.
"Thank you, Cain. I really appreciate it," Molly told him, her voice not quite as smooth as she hoped that it would be and still sounded hoarse from the yelling that she had done for the two and a half day voyage from the city. It wasn't her fault that they hadn't been able to hear her or she hadn't been able to hear them over the monstrous waves that made the boat sway back and forth, nearly causing her to become seasick.
They couldn't help but yammer away during their five minute trip up to the house on foot. Cain promised to give her a calf for free and she promised that she'd take care of it, saying that taking care of the livestock was her favorite part of farm life in Bluebell. Though, her mother focused on both crops and livestock and her brother adored the crops and she adored the livestock. They, in her eyes, were much better than the crops and she felt genuinely connected to the animals and actually felt that they understood what she was saying and that she understood what they were saying. The conversation was cut short when Hamilton spotted them, clapping his hands before bouncing over in the most literal sense.
Sweat was rolling down his pale forehead, the gray toupee wasn't fixed properly which gave everyone the knowledge that he was trying to hide - Mayor Hamilton was bald and trying to hide it. "Oh, I'm so glad that you've finally made it!" he wheezed, dabbing his forehead with the end of his sleeves.
"This is your plot of land, the house is a little disheveled and will need sprucing up. I'm sure the Carpenter and his apprentices won't mind, I've also taken the liberty to plant some crops that will help you bring in revenue. ALSO! M'lady, once you have the gold. You'll have to pay the 5000 gold pieces!"
It was a lot to take in, she felt like the air had been knocked out of her and she looked around in amazement, astonishment with a pang of sadness too because she didn't know about the fee or the current state of the property. "It'll do," was all that she could muster as the man bounced away down the road. Returning to his quarters while Cain placed her bags on the ground, bidding her farewell for now so that he could see his family before dinner.
There was a lot to do and she dragged her things in one by one, letting herself sink into this feeling that surrounded her as she looked over the dusty surface of her items and giggled at the expense of the people that had probably given these things up for free. The bed was in shambles but would do until she was able to get a better one, the nightstand was rickety and the table wasn't even a table because the legs had been broken off and rested on the floor. Pillows adoring each side while only the kitchen and bookshelf seemed to be the only things that were decent.
She would unpack later, throwing herself onto her bed and curling up in the old quilt that was spread out across the mattress. Right now, all she wanted to do was sleep and that was what she was going to get. Until a little orange sprite appeared without warning and shouted, "we've got to go see the Harvest Goddess!"
Hello, lovelies!
Here is an update and I'm still working on getting Word back onto my computer. So bare with me and I'll go through the chapters and sort out the mess when I can.
This chapter is incredibly long and the others will be long too. Some more so than others but sometimes, they will be short.
I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far and I hope to hear from you ~
Toodles, Paradi.