When Keira finally reached her special spot out in the forest she fell down to her knees and rested on her hands as she began to catch her breath after all the running she had just done. Once she felt her rapid heartbeat begin to slow it's pounding against her chest she sat back on her feet and rested her hands on her lap as she stared up at the orange tinted sky above. Even after everything that had happened at the festival earlier and all the running she had just done the sun was only just starting to fall beneath the horizon. She looked down at the pond in front of her and leaned over it as she began to run her hand through the water and swirl it around before soon pulling it out. Shutting her eyes she leaned back and began to think about Jack the scene she had witnessed involving him at the festival. She just didn't understand how he could he go from kissing that blonde haired woman one second to then watching her kiss another man while seemingly being unaffected by it. Then there was that kiss of hers with Edwin. She knew deep down that she truly only did that out of the confusion and partially amount of heartbreak she felt from Jack initial actions with that blonde haired woman but she also knew that to Edwin and anyone who witnessed that kiss, including Jack, it seemed to be out of love or appreciation.

Keira leaned forward and stared at her partially distorted reflection and saw exactly what she feared, a formally dressed and respectable princess. Shutting her eyes tightly she swatted at the water where her reflection sat and watched as it broke apart in the ripples she created. She hated this life of a princess she lived and yet there was nothing she could do to rid herself of it. To her parents and the whole town it seemed like after an eternity of turning away suitors she had finally found one she had approved of while to her the one she truly desired appeared to be slipping away from her. At that moment she felt as her heart and mind wandered into a thick fog of confusion. What was she to do? As she began to lie down on her side in the soft grass beside her the image of Jack kissing that blonde haired woman started to burn itself in her mind causing her to shed a few tears that slowly fell down her cheek into a small puddle beneath her head that dripped into the pond. Now that she had possibly lost Jack she could feel that she truly feel how much she longed for him and desperately wanted to be with him. He was her key to ridding herself of her life of royalty and yet now he seemed to be lost. Slowly she began to drift asleep.

A thick cloud of fog greeted Keira's eyes as they slowly opened up as she awoke. She quickly sat up and looked around the area surrounding the pond to see that the fog around her seemed to stretch endlessly through the trees as it blocked the sun in the sky above her preventing her from determining what time it was. Looking back out at the pond a calm breeze blew past her causing one of the purple flowers on her headpiece to come off and gracefully fall onto the pond water. Suddenly she began to notice as small multicolored sparkles began to rise up from the water and surround a humanly figure of a woman that started to appear floating over the center of the pond. Keira fell back in a combination of fear and surprise at the sight of the mystical woman and as more of her became visible the more she was able to make out her appearance. She had naturally green colored hair that was curled up on the sides of her head while the rest of it was braided into long ponytail and was wearing a short blue top that stopped above her stomach with a long half dark blue half light blue skirt that was held up by a red belt around her waist that had a long gold charm on the front of it, certainly not the appearance of someone who would cause her harm.

"Who… who are you?" Keira asked as she held her arm up in front of her face to shield herself just in case.

The woman put on a playful smirk as she raised her hands in the air in a majestic manner. "Why I'm the Harvest Goddess."

Keira lowered her arm as she stared at the supposed Goddess with her mouth agape. The Goddess was just a legend spoken of by the people of her kingdom, there was no way she could be standing right in front of her.

"Y-Y-Your r-real?" Keira stuttered.

The Goddess placed her hands on her hips and gave her an aggravated look. "Of course I am." She told her before becoming less tense. "Though I suppose I shouldn't get to mad. After all, I guess this is a little unexpected."

Keira got up to her feet and walked up to the water's edge. "What… what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same." The Goddess replied.

Keira looked at her confused.

"Just about once a week I hear you come to my pond and sit around while you think to yourself for hours on end. I'm fine with you just sitting around in the grass but when you stick your feet in her it's a different story." She told her.

"I'm sorry." Keira apologized with a quick bow. "I didn't mean to disrupt you or anything." She stopped and thought for a moment. "But how come you're just appearing to me now?"

"Well you've never offered anything to me. I can only appear when someone offers me something." The Goddess explained.

Keira looked down at the pond water and noticed the purple flower from her headpiece floating in the water. The Goddess must have mistaken it falling into the water as an offering.

"So what's on your mind for today then?" The Goddess asked causing Keira to look back up at her. "I don't mean to be intrusive or anything it's just that I'm here so I might as well ask."

"Oh, it's nothing." Keira replied a little shyly as she looked away.

The Goddess crossed her arms. "Come now, I'm not going to tell anyone or anything. Maybe I can help."

Keira took a deep breath. "Well, it's just that I've been having some… trouble with my feelings that's all."

"Such as?" The Goddess asked.

"Well since I'm the princess my parents want me to get married to a nice, wealthy lord or something from another kingdom so I can grow up and rule the kingdom with him when it's my time." She explained.

"What's the problem then?" The Goddess asked. "That doesn't sound like it should trouble you at all."

"I know it shouldn't but it's just that… it's just…" She took a deep breath. "It's just that I think I love somebody else."

"Now this sounds interesting…" The Goddess remarked. "Go on…"

"Well it's just that there was this night a while ago when I was captured by a group a thieves. They were going to kill me but this nice farmer named Jack came and saved me. After that he brought me over to his farm out here and let me spend the day with him and it helped me realize that I don't want this life. I just don't want to be a princess." She told her.

"So your parents want you to marry a wealthy man but you're in love with a farmer?" The Goddess asked for clarification.

Keira nodded her head. "It's just that with him I'd be able to rid myself of this princess life and become a commoner but I know that my parents would never approve of it. And then I remembered that when I marry someone then they become royalty which makes me think that trying to marry him to become a commoner is pointless, and then yesterday I saw him kissing some other girl which broke my heart but then he watched her kiss somebody else and was fine with it and… and… and I just have no idea what to do anymore!" Keira shouted almost crying at the end of her explanation.

"Calm down." The Goddess told her as she moved her hands up and down to emphasize her words.

"I just don't understand! I mean I don't want to be a princess and marry somebody I don't love but I don't know how I can marry the person I might love and lose my royal status!" Keira shouted.

She then fell down to her knees and covered her eyes as she began to cry at how upset she was making herself. She was just overwhelmed with confusion.

The Goddess sighed. "Look, I'm not sure what I can do to help you but I can tell you this."

Keira slowed down her crying and looked up at her.

"You should do what you want and go with what you truly desire. I'm sure that everything will work out for the better for you." The Goddess advised.

Keira wiped the tears in her eyes. "Do… do you really think so?"

"Of course I do." The Goddess replied.

Keira formed a smile. "Thank you.

The Goddess smiled back. "Don't mention it."

Suddenly with the same breeze that caused her to appear the Goddess began to disappear in front of Keira's eyes. Once she was gone Keira remained still for a moment before looking back at her reflection in the water and saw something more than she did last time. It was still the same image of her as a nicely dressed princess but now there was something more. In her eyes she could see a small twinkle, and to her that twinkle represented her. The kind of person she wanted to be was simply trapped inside of her waiting to be set free and she knew what she had to do to release it.