Oh my god(dess) guys. I had this first part written for weeks now but in order to write the rest I had to totally neglect all responsibilities. So now I'm doing just that. In fact, I just did this until 2 in the morning. HELP ME. Lol I'm really going to hate myself tomorrow. But I wrote a lot so whatever. Enjoy, I guess.
There was a woman talking, her words muffled but bright. I kept listening, trying to make out her words, who she was. I suddenly was able to make out her phrases faintly.
". . .won't do any work whatsoever, just like her brother," there was some other little voices that responded, but were too quiet.
"If something isn't done, the Harvest King will surely punish them. Dia asked my sister to make sure that her children would lead successful lives, to work with passion, but if Jack already has no work ethic whatsoever, then I doubt Jill will be any different. . ." the other voices were too small to make out what they were saying exactly, but it sounded like they were talking about not giving up or drawing conclusions.
"It's impossible," the woman laughed a little. "I'll just tell Marina that it's hopeless."
"What are you saying?!" a booming voice sounded from out of nowhere.
"Oh no, the Harvest King. . ." the woman muttered.
"Harvest King?" one of the little voices called out.
"Quitting already?! That's so like you to disappoint us so with your indolence, Aleia. You call yourself a Harvest Goddess? You always give up without really trying!"
"It's not like I can make someone work if they don't want to, Father," the woman named Aleia snapped.
"It's your duty now to figure it out! You're a goddess! You're starting to loaf on the job in your old age!"
"W-what?! Age has nothing to do with it you big baldy! And if it did, you're much older than I am, you old coot!" the ground shook violently.
"B-Baldy? W-why you! You've crossed the line! Take this as your punishment!" a loud crack sounded.
"You're a mean Harvest King! Change her back!" a small voice called out again.
"That's why people call you names like 'baldy'!" another said.
"Baldy! BALDY!" yet another mocked
"Silence! You all are to blame, too! You all need to reflect on what you did!" another mini-earthquake shook the earth, and with it another, much louder crack.
". . . Wake up," a harsh voice sounded. I blearily opened my eyes, a bright morning sun slapping me in the face and blinding me. I groaned, rolling over. I hadn't exactly spent my best night ever. It was a restless sleep that I had had, leaving me in a bitter mood. I looked at the person in front of me, a stranger with crazy light blonde hair and glowing red eyes. I was still too tired to be freaked out.
"Good, you're awake. I have a message from the Harvest King," the girl said. I blinked.
"What?" I muttered.
"Here," she said, holding out a letter. I took it slowly, opening the simple piece of folded paper.
Daughter of Dia,
The Harvest Goddess and the Harvest Sprites have been punished because your brother didn't work and caused you to be doubted. They've been sent away to another dimension. If you work hard and achieve your goals, proving yourself to fulfill your mother's wishes, I will return the Harvest Sprites and the Harvest Goddess to this dimension once more to grant you many wishes. To aid you, two Harvest Sprites at the Harvest Sprite Station and Guts at Harvest Sprite, Inc. shall be at your disposal. Do your best.
Signed,
Harvest King
"Is this some weird prank to welcome the new girl or something?" I asked, still groggy. The girl scoffed.
"If only. If you just go to the Harvest Sprite tree, you'll get your unfortunate proof. Unfortunate proof of how I'm going to be lonely now that I have nobody to argue with. Little bimbo had to go off and babble off her nonsense," the girl sighed. "Anyway, work really hard, eat your vegetables, la-dee-da, all that good stuff. I'm gonna go to bed now. Find me next to Lumina's mansion if you wanna turn into a frog or give me a toadstool or you wanna fight needlessly, I don't know. Just don't expect much help from me, 'kay? I'm really only a messenger for the old coot here," the girl poofed out of existence before I could even say anything.
"What the hell?" I mumbled.
I suddenly heard a little chirp, though, and looked at the source, smiling and patting the little chick on the head. I got up, stretching almost painfully, and headed out of the little coop. It was really bright outside, much later than my normal waking hour of seven. I walked over to my brother's cabin, expecting him to be gone, but when I opened the door, it revealed that he had in fact stayed in bed this entire time. I sighed for what had to be the hundredth time in the past day, shuffling over to my hopeless twin.
I slapped him awake. He moaned, rolling over and looking up at me.
"Hey," he croaked.
"Mhmm," I said. I walked out of the cabin and went to get him some water from the little rock pond, taking some for myself and bringing some back to him, both in glasses he had lying around. The little shit had fallen asleep, though. I slapped him again and forced him to drink the water.
"You're hopeless," I said, shaking my head.
"Jus' a lil' bit," he mumbled, covering his eyes with an arm. I went over to my suitcase with my medications, and gulped them down with the water. I put down my glass on his bedside table and sat down next to him on the bed. I brushed his hair back.
"Why didn't you ask for more help right away?" I asked.
"I did. . ." he replied.
"You told us we should come visit," I said.
"Yeah."
"That's not exactly saying 'hey I need some extra help starting out'. What did you expect when we came to visit? Dad deciding to stay and do all the hard work? He's already busy doing all of that at home."
My brother was silent.
"I just don't know, okay? Jill, can I just sleep some more, please? I think I can get more rest when I know you're here."
He sounded absolutely pathetic. It wasn't how I remembered my brother at all. I guess he had never failed so badly. I got up, rolling my eyes.
"Whatever," I muttered on my way out. I went to the phone, looking at the directory and dialing the number I needed.
"Yodel Farm, how can I help you?" a man sounded.
"I need some animal medicine," I said.
"Alrighty, we'll get that to you by tomorrow," he said. "Is that all?"
"Yes," I said, and hung up quickly. I headed out the door.
"I'm leaving," I said. My brother groaned in response.
I did just as I said I would. I decided to meet some other people in the town, almost afraid of all the characters I would meet, but I decided it should distract me from the thought of this "Harvest Sprite Tree" nonsense. I couldn't help it though. I knew the curiosity would kill me. I decided to ask Muffy later.
I was exhausted. I dragged my feet through the Blue Bar, plopping down on a bench. Muffy greeted me with a smile.
"Hi, Jill," she said.
"Hey, Muffy," I replied, smiling back a little.
"Can I get some water?" I asked. I kind of felt bad for not spending any money here yet, but I would get to it one day when I could actually scrape up some money. Muffy got me a glass, all smiles and no worries. At least none that she let on about. I knew for a fact that she had plenty to worry about, but the good thing about her was that she knew how to deal with her problems the way everyone should. I drank some water, but not as much as I thought I had wanted. I leaned my head against my hand, pursing my lips a little as I touched a drop making its way down the glass.
"Muffy. . ." I waited for her reply before talking. Muffy looked at me expectantly. When I didn't say anything, she spoke up.
"What is it, Jill?"
"I'm sorry if I sound kind of insane asking this, but do you know something about a Harvest Sprite Tree?" Muffy's face grew pensive.
"Um, well I don't know if it's an actual Harvest Sprite Tree, but there is a tree that the kids here have always talked about. The only problem is that there are so many trees here that I can't remember which one. Maybe if you ask Hugh or Kate? Have you met them yet?" I sighed a little.
"Yeah, as far as I know, I've met everyone in town. Quite the interesting bunch, I must say. Although they all seem nice," I said. Muffy giggled.
"I think that's how it is in every town, right? The world would be boring if it weren't."
I laughed a little.
"You're right, this whole world's all screwed up and weird," I took a sip of water, even though I wasn't really thirsty anymore.
"You know, I think I should go home and check on my brother," I said. I decided to give Muffy a very very small tip of 50 G.
"I swear I'll give you more when I make more," I said, guilty.
"Oh, no. No, no, Jill, you take every coin you can get. There's no way I'm taking any," she said.
"Muffy," I looked at her pointedly.
"Please," I said. She shook her head. I sighed and took the money back.
"One day I'm going to give you the biggest tip you've ever had," I said. Muffy laughed.
"You need to make sure you're brother's not dying first," she said. I snorted.
"Yeah…" I got up and headed out, waving to Muffy. I made my way onto the paved trail back home. It was getting dark already, so I quickened my pace, especially because it was becoming chilly once more. I rushed into the dark house, turning on the small light. Jack wasn't in his bed. I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to bother trying to figure out where in the world he was now. I decided this was as good a time as any to try to figure out the whole "harvest sprites" thing.
I looked around, walking up to a trunk at the foot of Jack's bed. I dug through for some sort of long-sleeve, taking out a big denim jacket. Goddess, I kind of hated denim. It was too constricting. But I didn't feel like looking through the big pile of musty clothes, so I just shrugged it on, stepping outside. The slight cold was much better now. I went down the hill, deciding to go right, for once. I wasn't too eager to go and visit some random vanishing girl, but the whole situation was going to bother me to no end. I had only been to the grand mansion on the hill once, to meet the inhabitants. If I remember, the woman was a Ms. Romara or Romanov or something, with her granddaughter Luna. Lunella? Oh my goddess, I don't know why I couldn't remember these people's names. I'd get it down eventually. I had totally ignored the little shed on the left side of the house, though. Well, left when walking towards it straight on.
It had become completely dark at this point, so it was kind of hard to see. There was a glow from the mansion's lit up windows, though, so I could see the shed's outline. A whispering voice sounded from its direction. I walked closer to hear.
"ξουρЖπΑ…" my eyebrows met in confusion. I walked up to the structure, the door now visible.
"XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha… XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…"
I knocked. I know, smart. I guess that's just how I roll. Hear some odd chants, knock on the door to check it out. A long silence followed, perhaps for a couple of minutes. I grew uneasy. I was about to leave when the door creaked open. There was a magenta glow coming from the otherwise dark room. I stood at the doorstep, wide-eyed, thoroughly creeped out.
"Come on, Jill, you're letting the cold air in," a voice echoed. I assumed it to be the same girl as before. I stepped in to the ominous-looking room… for some reason. The door closed behind me and the room became even darker, despite the large glow coming from the middle of the room. Soon, though, my eyes adjusted and the glow either actually became brighter or just appeared to do so. I could see the girl behind whatever was glowing. I could now see that it was in some sort of giant vase, or bowl, or something.
"Come closer, Jill, jeez," I complied. I now saw that it was a cauldron. How… witch-like…
"Um," I said lamely.
"Are…are you a witch?" I asked. The girl scoffed.
"You don't miss much, do you?" she said sarcastically. I was taken aback.
"W-what? Seriously?"
"Oh, Jill, I know this is all new and stuff but can we get past all the shock and revelation or whatever on meeting a witch? I wanna get to the good stuff, already," she said.
"U-um… sure. I guess. Can—can I at least ask some questions?" the girl sighed.
"No."
"What's your name, at least?" I asked.
"Are you daft? I can't give you my real name. Don't you know anything? Just call me Witch Princess," she said, stirring what was in the cauldron with no hands.
"Oh… well. I guess that answers my other question. I know that witch elites don't like giving their names," I said.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Enough being all nosy and shit. Now, I imagine you have some questions? To get the old hag back? I'm already dying of boredom and you're taking forever, so just ask me whatever to get you started. Have you even gone to the Harvest Sprite Tree yet?"
"Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. I don't know where it is," the witch stared at me, unblinking.
"Are you shitting me?" she finally asked.
"Um…no?" I said.
"Oh my shit, Jill, that's the most basic thing you need to know. It's just next to the goddess pond, right next to the hill where your farm is at. It's a big tree, with crystals all around it. You can't miss it."
I sucked in my lips and then made a smacking sound.
"Well…that's good to know, then," I said. The witch shook her head.
"XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha… XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…"
"Um, do you want me to leave?" I asked.
"Not yet, Jill. Calm down," she said.
"XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…" I stood there awkwardly, watching as whatever was in the cauldron bubbled.
"XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…"
"XIOMICRON…UPSILONRHO…ZHEPI—ALPHA!" the cauldron's bubbles grew larger, all popping quickly with a sizzling sound. There was a glow around the witch princess now, and she looked like she was breathing in the glow, or something. Her hands held onto the cauldron, and her eyes glowed the same color as whatever was in the cauldron, changing from their originally fierce red.
"GAAAAHHHHHHH!" she exclaimed. I jumped, stepping back, totally shocked. Where the hell did that come from? The witch slumped where she stood, the glow fading.
"Lux…" she whispered. The room was immediately illuminated by many little candles, all actually quite powerful. She sighed, and kicked the cauldron. The giant metal container didn't move at all. It was bigger than the bed I now saw in the corner. The rest of the room only consisted of bookcases, full of books, viles, and bottles. Books were also strewn about the floor of the stone shed, haphazardly set down.
The witch princess just stared at the cauldron.
"Why…" she whispered.
"Why does the Harvest Goddess always complain about everything? And now…now she goes off and gets herself banished, by blabbing her stupid mouth to someone other than me! Her own father, for fuck's sake! And I mean, why does she think she's such a "good girl" or whatever? It just pisses me off that she's so self-righteous! She's always going off and getting herself in trouble and then it's others who have to clean up her mess!" she scoffed. "She says that I'm the troublemaker around here. I mean sure, every now and then I bully the Harvest Sprites, break up a few sweethearts, destroy crops, make animals sick, all those little things, but she goes and gets so pissed about it! I'm just having a little fun! Adding a little chaos to the world to balance it all out. But she is always just being an annoying dolt!" the witch was pacing frantically at this point, fuming and moving her hands about. She suddenly whirled around to look at me.
"Well? Don't you hear what I'm saying? Wouldn't something like that piss you off?"
"W-well, I mean. I haven't met her, or anything. But that sure sounds annoying," I offered. The witch scoffed again.
"Yeah, you're right. It's annoying," she paused.
"I'm glad we see eye to eye Jill. I think I'm gonna like you," the witch smirked, then went over to a bookshelf and took down a crystal ball.
"Now I'm afraid I have some pressing matters at the moment, but please feel free to come back whenever. And remember, I'm not joking about bringing me toadstools, red grass, gold lumber, even rainbow curry. If you give me rainbow curry I will possibly fall in love with you, though, so fair warning," the witch snorted. She was pretty scary, but she just seemed stressed. Plus, she's a witch. A witch noble, to make things worse.
I made my way to the door, bracing myself for the change in temperature.
I walked out, and suddenly heard screaming. I ran to the mansion, stopping dead in my tracks as I saw some weirdo with silver hair right in front of me. They looked at me from across the fountain, stars reflecting in the water, sparkling as the droplets of the fountain bounced about in a rush of multiple jets. The person's face was obscured by the water, and they were just standing there. I moved to the side slowly, trying to see their face. I stopped when I saw it in its entirety.
I think it was a man.
He was…unsettling. He was all glow and… almost ethereal. His green eyes, his pale skin, his silver hair. They were all glowing. I couldn't tell if it was the moon's fault, or not. I kind of hoped it was. I looked the man over. Honestly, it was the worst outfit I'd probably seen put together. At least on someone this…pretty. I especially hated his gray and black animal print little sweater. I hated animal print. It was so tacky. I heard the man chuckle.
"Hello, beautiful," he said.
I was not expecting that. I'm not sure what I was really expecting, though, to be honest. Maybe a "boo!" or something.
I ended up just staring at the guy. He raised his eyebrow a little, walking towards me, encircling the large fountain, blurring his face once again.
"Out for a little walk by yourself… at night?" he whispered the last part. I raised my eyebrow. I remained silent. The guy chuckled again, looking up at the sky.
"I see that my beauty has paralyzed yet another maiden. I guess I won't need to be using any…special powers on you."
"What?" I finally said. He laughed, now in front of me.
"I thought that would get you talking. Don't worry about it, though, beautiful. 'Twas simply a jest," he smiled, canines defined, leaning down to meet my eyes. It was only then I had realized he was at least a head taller than me. I think I stopped breathing at one point, unable to tell if I was scared or seduced or what. I didn't like it, whatever it was.
"Hey! Aren't you that thief? Phantom Skye?" a shrill voice called out, and we both looked to see the girl, Luna or Luni or whatever, standing at the doorway, face red. I whirled around back to the man.
"Yes, yes, dear. Phantom Thief Skye. Prince of the Stars. The World's Most Beautiful Man. Every Person's Dream Lover. Take your pick," he grinned slyly.
"You're a thief?" I accused. This Phantom Skye guy did a little salute, a sparkling necklace held in his hands.
"Oh it's just a little trinket for now… it'll be your heart, later…" he chuckled. Was this guy for real? Did people like this actually exist? What the hell was going on? I couldn't even tell who he was talking to, but it honestly seemed to be the both of us. I didn't know how to respond.
"Pardon my jocund attitude, ladies. It seems to be having quite an effect on you, and for that, I apologize. I'm a little pressed for time, now, though, so please don't think me rude. I'm sure we'll see each other again, though," he waved, still smiling. I grabbed him by the arm. The girl came rushing over, presumably to help me out.
"Wait right there!" she yelled. The thief looked at us, his gaze growing gentler.
"Now, now. Don't let such raw anger steal away your beauty," Lun-Lum-whatever visibly blushed and started sputtering, and I just held onto him, still not sure how to respond to his little antics. He whispered something very quietly. He winked at the girl, and then at me, and then slipped out of my grip. He smirked a little.
"Don't worry. It's written in the stars," he said, then quickly disappeared into the trees. What was this little shit's deal with trying to be all mysterious? The biggest enigma that bothered me, though, was that I didn't know why I hadn't been able to move. It freaking pissed me off.
"I-I don't know what just happened," I said after a little while. I looked at my hand, moving closer to my face. What was that all about? Did that just really happen? I just realized how quickly my heart was racing. I had never faced anything so different, so exciting, so dangerous. Well, I guess it wasn't that dangerous, really, but it was really the closest I'd come to any sort of crime or anything. It was… absolutely exhilarating.
"Oh my goddess… I can't believe he just got away like that. He was so charming, I couldn't even move. I'm so embarrassed…" the girl mumbled. I felt kind of bad for her. She seemed to be a pretty nice girl, just a little spoiled. I now felt really bad for not knowing her name.
"Miss Lumina!" a man called out from the mansion. I quietly thanked the man for reminding me of her name. I diligently repeated it in my hand, committing it to memory.
"Lumi!" an old woman called, as well. They both came out, all in their elderly glory. Whatever that is. If I remember correctly, though, the old guy was just a butler, while the lady was some crazy rich and powerful something-or-other.
"Oh, Sebastian, oh grandmother!" Lumina said. She sounded so sad. It broke my heart a little.
"He got away with the locket!" she lamented. Her grandmother patted her on the head, having taken her into a hug
"Mrs. Romana, would you like me to go and chase the thief?" the butler asked. I was really liking this guy. He was reminding me of the things I was wanting to know, without me asking. Mrs. Romana shook her head.
"No, no, Sebastian, we'll find him eventually. Besides, it would be far too dangerous. You know that," she said. I guess I was right about the slight danger factor. Although I'm sure the biggest danger was this old guy wandering around in the dark, especially with the threat of wild dogs. But whatever.
"Oh, Jill, are you alright?" Lumina asked. I nodded.
"Of course, don't worry about me," I said. She nodded as well.
"Good, good. I'm so glad you were here. I would've been a lot more scared if you weren't. I wouldn't have been so brave. Although he did get away, at least we tried, right?" she asked. I laughed a little, nervously.
"Yeah…" I replied quietly. Lumina smiled.
"I'm going to go home now, then," I said.
"Oh, no, no, Jill, you mustn't. It's too late now. It's dark, and the thief is out there. It's much better if you stay here for the night. Right, Grandmother?" Lumina asked. Mrs. Romana smiled.
"Of course, dear. Come, come," she said.
"Thank you, Mrs. Romana, thank you Lumina, but I really don't want to be a bother. I'm just right down the path," I said.
"Oh, nonsense, dear, it's much more than just 'down the path'. And just call me Romana, otherwise I feel like an old bat," she chuckled. I laughed a little with her. The women led me into the mansion. Lumina took me up the stairs and into her bedroom, which was, of course, big and beautiful, and surprisingly classy. I had expected more craziness, or something, to go with her effervescent personality. But, looking at her clothes and talking to her a little more, it became a little more obvious that she was actually quite an elegant woman in the making, at the very least. I decided I really did like her. She had Sebastian take down a mattress and some bedding, insisting that we have a "sleepover". I had to admit, it was comforting being back in an environment like this. I was still worried about the little chick, though. But there wasn't much more I could do until medicine arrived.
We talked for maybe an hour or so, but eventually Lumina fell asleep. In my borrowed silk gown and rather fine bed linens that smelled like lavender, a smell I now know made me homesick, it was easy and quick to soon follow.
OH MY GOD HOW DO YOU EVEN WRITE SKYE I DID NOT REALIZE HOW FREAKING HARD IT WAS LIKE
I'm kinda making him super duper creepy I think
Although my thinking right now is that of a burnt out student that just did standardized testing all day and has written until 2:30 a.m. while having barely slept the night before AMI IEVEN MAKING SENSE IN THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER? WHATEVER.
Okay well yeah. Please review. Any suggestions for not making Skye a total facking weirdo creep thing? I'll sit on it all I guess. I'll come back to edit another day maybe. Whatever. #swaggie
God help me