OH MY GOD I JUST RE-READ AND EDITED MY LAST CHAPTER. IT WAS SO AWFUL. WHO LETS ME WRITE AT SUCH AN HOUR?! I'M SO FUCKING DONE.

I'm hoping 11:00 p.m. is a better time for my brain to do the writing thing.

Anyway, my updates always take longer than I would like, but at least I've been pretty consistent and doing it every month. I've never done such a thing before. So yay for that.

Too bad all my updates kind of suck ass. This one makes me want to die a little, but I'll just edit it later. I want to at least get something up.

I woke up in a much more pleasant manner than I had for the past few days, really. There was just something so warm, fresh, and nice about where I awakened. I slowly got up, feeling very well-rested, and stretched rather languidly, sighing contently after finishing. I looked over to Lumina, who was still sleeping. I wondered what time it was.

I got up out of the mattress on the floor, and went over to see Lumina's bedside table. There, there was a very expensive-looking alarm clock. I walked closer to try and get a better look at the hands. I almost gasped in shock. It was 10:48 a.m.

"Lumina," I whispered, a little frantic. The girl groaned a little, but otherwise remained still and silent.

"Lumina," I said, a little louder at the end, but still trying to sound friendly. She rolled over, sighing softly.

"Hmm?" she attempted.

"It's almost 11 o'clock, Lumina!" I said, still trying to be a little quiet. Lumina opened her eyes slowly, hair all over her face.

"Yeah, so?" she said, sleep not yet shaken.

"I have to go back to the farm immediately. Especially since my brother's so screwed up," I said, already gathering my clothes.

"I'm so sorry to be leaving like this, but thank you very much. You're very kind," I said. Lumina smiled a little and nodded.

"Of course, Jill. Have fun," and she rolled back to her former position. I made the bed a little, clothes in hand, and headed out the door. On the way out, I ran into Sebastian heading into the kitchen. He heard me and looked at me.

"Hello, Ms. Jill. Sleep well?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, and you Mr. Sebastian?" I asked, walking up to him. He smiled and nodded. I looked into the kitchen and saw Romana at the table sipping tea. I waved at her and she smiled.

"Thank you so much for having me Mr. Sebastian and Mi—uh—Romana. I really appreciate it, and I'm sorry I couldn't stay a little later but I really have to go back to the farm now," I said. Romana nodded.

"Of course, dear," she said, still smiling. "Be safe. And please do feel free to come by whenever you would like."

I smiled back.

"Yes, thank you," I left quickly, almost sprinting back to the farm. I was so worried about the little chirpy guy. The chick, not my brother. Just for clarification. I guess it was pretty obvious, but still. I almost tripped going back up the hill, and slowed down significantly afterwards. As I neared the house, I saw a little package by the front door. I went over to pick it up, and opened up the plain brown box. Inside, there was some animal medicine. I hurried over to the little chirpy's fragile coop, and crossed my fingers as I opened the door to the sad little bundle of sticks. The sunlight filled the musty coop with light, and I rushed over to where little chirpy was last. I picked up the little bird, and was relieved to see that it was still breathing. It was very faint, though.

I gave it a dose of the medicine, and made sure to give it a little food. I lay it back down in the little nest it had been in. I kissed its little head, walking away slowly without taking my eyes off of it.

"Get better, little chirpy, 'kay?" I said. I walked out, closing the door on my way out. I decided not to shut it all the way, so as to give the little chick at least some fresh air. I walked back over to the main house, and there, I was surprised to see a short, round man clad in all red.

"Hello!" he said. His white skin was covered with red splotches, especially around his nose and cheeks, but not in a healthy-looking way. He had a big brown mustache and matching, but balding, hair, all curled and gravity-defying. He adjusted his small glasses, and made sure his little red top-hat was properly positioned on his bare crown.

"Um, hello," I said, cautious of weirdly dressed strangers on my property. I wasn't sure if I was ready to be meeting such an odd-looking guy. He stuck out his meaty hand. I decided to take it, and he shook it with great enthusiasm.

"I am Mayor Thomas, of Mineral Town. I also help out around Forget-Me-Not Valley a lot, too, though. Nice to meet you, Jill," he said.

"Uh, well. I guess I don't have to introduce myself, then. Nice to meet you," I replied. Thomas smiled. We were still shaking hands.

"Yes, yes, Jill. I'm sure you will do some fine work here," he said, and finally let go of my hand. I tried to discreetly wipe off the sweat on my hand as he looked around at the farm. I couldn't help but be a little embarrassed about the poor land, even though the farm's condition had nothing to do with me. The man's face grew almost like he was about to scold me or something.

"Now, I'm afraid that the old shipper moved away recently due to the… lack of crops coming from here. Honestly, though, even Vesta's farm has been struggling a bit. So, there was a meeting to pick a new one, and, well, I guess now the shipper is me! So you'll be seeing me around a bunch," the man's face grew a little darker.

"Of course I wouldn't have to if I had gone with scissors…" he muttered, looking over to the barren field.

"Sorry?" I asked. Was he talking about Rock-Paper-Scissors? The man looked like he was being brought into some new reality, now. He smiled again.

"Oh, nothing. Sorry. I tend to talk to myself. Anyway, I'll be handling your shipments, so I thought I'd come by and say hello. Hahaha, not that you have anything to ship yet, but just so you know. Oh, I also took the liberty to pay for that package that came by this morning, just as a little welcoming gift. Now, now. I'm busy, but I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. and sharp! Every day, too. Even if it's raining, or snowing, or there's a tornado, or hurricane, or anything. Anything, really! I'll be there okay? Bye bye now!" he said, waving and hopping away. I just stared at where he left, hoping he hadn't seen my face so weirded out. He really was one of the worst kinds of people wasn't he? I hoped I didn't have to see him a lot. He annoyed me more in the last few minutes than anyone had really ever annoyed me in my entire life. On top of all that, he was a creepy bloke. I felt like he would sneak into people's houses in the middle of the night just to give them gifts or stare at them or something.

I finally decided to walk back inside the house. Jack wasn't there, and I just had to hope he wasn't dead at this point, I guess. I went to his dusty toolbox, and dug down through all the rusty tools for any money. I found a couple of coins lying around, which only gave me 100 G. I sighed. It really wasn't much, but it would have to do. I sped out of the house, heading towards the other farm in the town: Vesta's. I made my way towards the bridge, and saw Muffy on my way there. I waved at her, and she returned the favor, heading down the path to what I now knew was where the Harvest Sprite Tree was. I would have to visit there right after.

I thundered across the wooden bridge, running, and water rushing beneath me and echoing my footsteps even more. The sound immediately stopped as I got back onto a dirt path, and Vesta's shop was soon only feet away, on the left. I ran inside, a sudden rush of air hitting me from a fan right behind the counter. It was a pretty small room. Vesta's back was turned, writing something on a clipboard. I walked up right in front of the counter.

"Hold on, dear. Give me just one second," she said. She finished after a minute, and turned around to me. When she saw me, a big smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, Jill! How wonderful to see you finally coming to buy something! I was hoping I could get some real competition soon," she winked at me, laughing a little. I chuckled a little.

"Yes, well. I think I only have enough for one bag right now, so don't expect much too soon," I said.

"Oh, honey. It'll get much easier, trust me. It's always hard in the beginning. That doesn't mean you can ever slack off, though! It just means the hard work won't bother or stress you out as much anymore," she said. I smiled.

"Thanks, Vesta. I appreciate it," I replied.

"Now, what would you like to buy?" she asked.

"Umm…" I started. "What can I buy with 100 G?" Vesta's smile faded.

"Oh, Jill. I'm so sorry. The cheapest seeds I have are turnip seeds, which are 120 G," she said. My heart sank. I didn't know what to say. I was so embarrassed. Vesta shook her head.

"Now, now. It's only 20 G. Just take these as a gift from me, okay?" she said, handing me five bags of seeds.

"Oh my goddess. Vesta, there's no way I can let you give me all of these seeds for only 100 G," I said, pushing the seeds away.

"I'm not giving them to you for 100 G. I'm giving them to you for free," she said. I blinked, unbelieving.

"What?"

"Take them, Jill. I won't accept no for an answer. I know how hard it is to start out. Trust me, even this gesture isn't much. It's just barely enough to get you on your feet. So, don't worry. Barely anything is coming out of my profit if you just take these," she said. She shoved them into my arms and let go immediately, forcing me to catch the bags.

"V-Vesta. I—thank you," I said simply. She waved me off.

"Go plant those crops, girl," she replied, and turned back around. I immediately ran home and did just that, smiling. It wasn't all as hopeless as I had thought. I mean, I could have just asked my father, I suppose, but the whole reason for doing this was to show that I could be independent and that Jack was not in fact a total screw-up. Even though he was. Plus, I was already a financial burden on him, what with my immunodeficiency.

I tilled five 3x3 fields, for each bag of seeds, but by the time I had finished planting, I was exhausted. I felt like I was going to pass out. I immediately stopped, holding my head. Oh. I need to take my medication.

I stumbled my way to Dr. Hardy's, having to stop on the way even though it was only about a minute away. I walked into the small house on my right when exiting the farm land, without knocking, and was relieved to see the doctor there.

"Jill? Are you alright?" he asked, coming over to check my vitals. I nodded.

"I need some medicine," I said. He nodded and went over to a cabinet, while I decided to lay on the examination bed he had. He came back over and gave me some sort of syrup, which was new, since I was used to pills, and without realizing, I ended up slipping out of consciousness sometime after.

My head was hurting, and my throat was dry. I opened my eyes, feeling groggy, to only find darkness. I had no idea where I was. I started panicking, getting up out of whatever bed I was on, heart beating wildly, and groping around for something. The lights suddenly turned on. I whirled around to see Jack had turned on the light, looking grumpy and eyes squinting.

"Calm down, Jill," he grumbled, and I looked around to see that I was at our house. I guess Jack had let me sleep in the bed. At least he was decent like that. I attempted swallowing to wet my throat, but that didn't accomplish much.

"I'm sorry Jack," I croaked out. He sighed a little, and came over to me. He put a hand on my shoulder.

"Do you need some water?" I nodded in response. He trudged outside to the well with a bucket in hand, and I sat back down onto the bed. He came back pretty quickly, shivering a little, and I drank the chilled water straight from the bucket, not even bothering with a cup. The damp wood was soft against my lips, and it smelled really nice. I immediately felt better, and my headache let up significantly.

"Thank you," I whispered. Jack nodded, and lay back down onto a little set up on the floor. I felt bad, but if I really thought about it, I really didn't feel that bad. I was all wide awake, now, though, so I decided to take a walk, or something. I looked over at the clock. It was one o'clock in the morning. I was expecting it to be later, quite honestly. I went and put on the jean jacket I had stolen from my brother, along with a flashlight, and told him I was leaving for a little bit. Groggy, he just mumbled a little, and I turned off the pathetic light hanging from the ceiling.

I had been expecting it to be colder, but was pleasantly surprised that it was only a little chilly. I decided to go see the lake or pond or whatever it was that everyone talked about. Would I even be able to check out the Harvest Sprite Tree at this hour? I made my way down the path, flashlight on, and couldn't help but feel a little creeped out, even though I knew that the amount of crime that happened here was virtually nonexistent, save for that thief. I shook off the eerie feeling, and turned left right before I got to the bridge. Soon, making the turn that went behind the hill, I realized that I didn't need the flashlight. I almost dropped it in awe. It was so beautiful. There were tall plant-like things with giant crystals hanging from them, all lined up in rows to light up the way to a giant sparkling body of water. I walked forward slowly, mouth open and flashlight turned off, and decided to touch one of the giant crystals. It didn't really feel hot or cold. Actually, in some weird way, it felt like both. I touched the stem of the odd lights, and with shock realized that these were actual plants. I dug a fingernail in to make sure, and saw an imprint there. I felt a little liquid on that finger, and was amazed. Could I grow these?

I made the rest of the way towards the water, and realized that the little pond there was smaller than it had looked before. It was still beautiful, though, reflecting both the stars and the glowing wonder-plants. I knelt down, and looked closely at the water. I reached down to touch it, a little scared.

"Isn't it beautiful?" a voice sounded. I jumped right up and looked around. My heart was racing, totally convinced that I was going to die for some reason. Was this guy dangerous?

I couldn't find the source of the voice. I decided to hold up the flashlight as a weapon, and took some sort of stance I hoped looked at least a little threatening. Though, it probably just made me look stupid. I heard a chuckle from the shadows.

"Stop trying to be all mysterious and weird!" I called out. I hated to admit how exciting it kind of was suddenly facing this.

"What's the fun in that, my dear?" The voice was much too close to be comfortable now, though. Was this guy some creepy sadist? I scoffed, trying to suppress my fear.

"You're just some creepy old perv, aren't you?"

The Phantom Thief suddenly appeared before me.

"Now, now. I can't have you saying such things that could tarnish my reputation with the ladies," he said, voice as smooth and calm as ever. He laughed a little and strolled toward me. I was getting 1000% creep alarms in my head.

"Please don't misunderstand my intentions. I'm not as low and desperate as to stalk my women. I was just simply taking a stroll in one of my favorite places," he said.

"Did you just call me one of your women?"

"Did I?" he remarked, a smirk across his face. He decided to stand by me. I decided to step away. He sat down right where I had knelt before.

I hadn't been expecting that. I was actually expecting that I would have to take my chances, hit him on the head with a flashlight, and run while praying. He just looked up at me, the glow from the crystals causing his ghostly appearance to become much more extreme than before. I stood still, heart racing.

"You should return Lumina's necklace," I said, trying to calm myself down a little. The thief nodded.

"Yes, I should. But I'm afraid I am no longer in possession of it," he said.

"You already sold it?" I said, disgusted, which helped. What a low-life.

"It's not that simple, dear. I wish it was, though," he said, looking down at the water.

"I'm not going to believe your pathetic excuse for stealing," I said, and decided to just walk away, feeling my patience suddenly run short.

"Please. Wait," he said. I sighed, and decided to turn around. I guess I was still feeling a little adventurous, not to mention lenient.

"What?" I said, making sure disinterest was clear in my voice.

"I wasn't making excuses. I will admit to my own fallacies," he said. He was looking right at me.

"Okay," I said. Why was he keeping me here just to say that?

"I'm actually a savior of this little town," he said, smirking. I raised an eyebrow.

"Do enlighten me on how that is so," I said, trying to copy his stupid little silky voice. I made a little waving gesture with my hand as I said so.

"I choose not to steal as much as I could. As much as I should, too, I must add. So, if anything, I deserve your thanks," he said.

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that," I said.

"You're right. But I thought I'd at least tell you," he said. He remained silent after that. I sighed once more and went to stand next to him.

"Why do you insist on being some mysterious little shithead?"

He chuckled.

"You find me mysterious?"

"It's not a compliment. It's annoying and comes off a little pretentious," I said. He touched his chest.

"That's not very nice of you," he said, and I realized that the smirk across his face was pretty much always there. I rolled my eyes. I decided to sit down where I stood, for some reason. I made sure to sit down pretty far from him, though.

I just sat there, looking at the beautiful water. It was completely calm, and not a ripple was in sight. It was unsettling, actually. I decided to attempt touching the water once more.

My finger touched it, but there would have been no way of knowing if I hadn't actually seen my finger touch it. My eyebrows met in confusion. The water remained as smooth and un-moving as ever. But I had felt it, and it was cold and wet. I rubbed my fingers together on one hand, feeling a liquid.

"What is this place called, again?" I asked.

"The Goddess Pond," the thief replied simply. I looked over at him. He was looking at the water right in front of his spot.

"Is it magic?" I followed up.

"Yes."

I bit my lip. The Harvest Goddess. I had to save her. I had to see the Harvest Sprites.

I suddenly felt exhausted even thinking about such a thing.

"What's your name?" I suddenly heard. I raised an eyebrow and looked back at him. Should I just tell him? I mean, who even really cares?

"Jill," I replied. He nodded, and turned to look at me. A smile, not a smirk but an actual hint of a real smile, appeared across his face.

"Nice to meet you, Jill," he said, voice soft. I felt a little sick. My heart felt like it suddenly did a few cartwheels or jumping jacks, or something. I felt nauseous, and felt the urge to shake a little. What the hell? My pulse was doing just that: pulsing. Throughout my entire body.

Did he just use some weird little spell on me, or something? Was he really magic? I could have sworn he had done something to me and Lumina before. Was this something else?

Or…was it that he was actually somehow making me kind of like him? Oh, goddess. I was so weak and pathetic. I mean, seriously? Some guy you just recently met smiles at you and you're all swoony or whatever? I sighed.

"Yeah," I finally said, and decided to just leave. I was sick of this, as well as very uncomfortable.

"I'm gonna go now," I said. The thief looked up at me.

"Have I frightened you?" he asked, annoying smirk back.

"No, you just piss me off. Plus, I'm tired," I said, and just decided to walk off without looking back. I heard a chuckle as I left.

"I'll see you again, beautiful. It's written in the stars."

What the fuck was wrong with this guy?