A/N: So, as stated in the summary, this is my gift for therainydaykids! And I'm sorry it's so late. Can't say I'm especially happy with what I came up with, but it was too late to back out on my initial idea, as I'm sure you can understand. Hence why I kept pushing back posting it. But enough of my rambling – I hope you enjoy it regardless.

-Cotton Candy Mareep

Until We Meet Again

Once upon a time, there lived-

No no, scratch that. Much too cliché.

A long time ago, in a faraway land-

Oh, no no no. That was just as bad. Could it get any more generic?

Mary sighed as she scratched out tiresome sentence after tiresome sentence with her pen. The lined paper she had been writing on was now covered in black ink scribbles, leaving not a single word visible through the messy blotches. The dark-haired writer adjusted her glasses as she stared down at the page before her in frustration, her chin rested on one palm. Oh, why did it have to be so difficult to write one measly first sentence?

It was as if there were a physical barrier blocking her from writing, a figurative concrete wall that prevented the ideas in her mind from flowing out of her pen in precisely formed words. Surely, once she got through the first paragraph or so, the story would come to her more easily. After all, she already had the most basic plot and premise of the novel all mapped out, and a few of the later scenes already written, though the many finer details of the characters and romance were still up in the air.

As of that moment, however, Mary couldn't even get through the very first sentence. How pathetic.

Her dissatisfied thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the bedroom door. "Mary?"

"Come in," Mary called, not glancing up from her work. The door opened, and a short-haired brunette with a sweet, melodic voice entered.

"I know you're busy right now," she said quietly, her hazel eyes scanning the stack of papers on the desk behind Mary, "working on your novel, but I thought you might like to take a break and join me for afternoon tea?"

Mary nodded wearily, rising from the desk and brushing off her skirt, and the tentative smile on the other girl's face widened. She didn't need to know just how little Mary had actually gotten done in the hours she had spent that morning cozied up at her desk in one of the Villa's guest rooms. "Thank you, Lumina. I'd love to."

Although Mary was the librarian in nearby Mineral Town, she had come to stay for a few days at the mansion in Forget-Me-Not Valley where her good friend Lumina lived, raised by her wealthy grandmother and their diligent, loyal butler.

Mary was also a budding novelist, who loved spending her spare time working on novels that she contemplated publishing someday, but lately she had been experiencing the worst case of writer's block. Lumina had offered her a room at the Villa for a little while over the summer – a change of scenery to help get her creative juices flowing, she called it, and they had plenty of extra room in the mansion anyway, so it was no bother – but so far, it had done little to help, unfortunately.

Mary followed Lumina into the latter's bedroom, where the table had already been set for tea, covered in a white linen tablecloth with a china teacup and small plate placed at each of the two seats. A steaming teapot sat in the center of the table beside a centerpiece of pinkcat flowers in a vase and a platter of chocolate cookies, baked by Sebastian, no doubt.

"So… how's that novel of yours coming along so far, anyway?" Lumina asked as she poured hot herbal tea into each of the teacups. Mary cringed inwardly.

"Well… I'm doing fine, I think…" she lied, her cheeks turning bright pink. Lumina stared at her, disbelieving.

"…Are you really?"

Mary sighed. She couldn't hide the truth from one of her best friends. "No… no, I haven't even gotten past the first sentence," she admitted bitterly. "I don't know why, but the words just aren't coming to me lately. And I still don't know what direction I'm going to take the story in, when I do get past that initial roadblock… I mean, I do have a general outline all planned out, but how do I make it unique? It's just another romance, how do I make this one so much different from all the others I've written? How do I make the characters realistic but interesting, so that people actually care what happens to them?" Dismayed, she sadly sipped on her tea, despite nearly burning her tongue in the process.

Lumina munched on a cookie thoughtfully. "Just keep your eyes and ears open," she said finally. "Maybe take a walk around the valley, do some exploring. You never know when inspiration might hit you, and a great idea will come to you. Just be patient."

Mary managed a smile and selected a cookie for herself. "I suppose you're right, Lumina… Thank you. You always give the best advice."

Lumina smiled back. "Oh, it's no problem. That's what friends are for."

Later that night, Mary again sat at her desk in the guest room, the desk lamp shining over scattered pens and papers as the novelist sat in silent frustration at the words she had written so far. Below her, haphazardly crumpled balls of discarded paper were strewn about the floor, covered in hasty ink scribbles.

She sighed and glanced out the window. It was a clear night, as moonlight illuminated the dense treetops surrounding the mansion, and warm, humid air flowed into the room from the window that had been left slightly ajar; it was the kind of breeze you only get on lovely summer nights such as these.

Perhaps this was the perfect night to put Lumina's advice to action. After all, at this point, Mary was completely stuck.

Outside, the night air was pleasantly warm and soothing against her pale skin. The cloudless sky was dusted with brilliant stars, and as she strolled through the front courtyard toward the gates, she could hear the calming sound of water splashing into the fountain.

Mary wandered down the empty cobblestone street toward the main road. The only sounds came from the Blue Bar, as a faint murmur of laughter and conversation could be heard from within, and unnatural light filtered out through the windows onto the street. Mary swept a loose lock of raven-black hair over her ear as a light gust, smelling of perfumed flowering trees and the faintest salty scent of seawater wafting up from the beach, tugged at her ankle-length skirt.

Eventually, Mary found herself wandering through the forest of Forget-Me-Not, where branches lush with deep green leaves blocked the moonlight from reaching the lone dirt path. She breathed in deeply as she wandered along, entranced by the sounds of crickets all around her, and a feeling of peace settled over her. Such a perfect night…

Mary paused as the path opened into a clearing, and curiosity overwhelmed her. The entire space seemed to glow with an ethereal light that couldn't possibly be from just the moon itself… In fact, as she looked around in wonder, Mary saw that the path ahead of her was lined with enormous, blue bell-shaped flowers that towered over her head, seemingly casting a strange bluish light over the area.

Slowly, she began to walk forward until she reached the very end of the path where a large circular pond lay in wait, its mysterious depths illuminated from within somewhat eerily. Mary found herself fascinated with the scene. She had never imagined that such a beautiful sight existed in Forget-Me-Not… could this be a realm of the Harvest Goddess?

She leaned forward curiously, half wondering if she could manage to see the goddess herself within the murky depths of the pond. As she stared down into the water, however, her foot caught on one of the slippery rocks lining the pond in her distraction, and she began to teeter ominously. With a faint gasp of surprise, she tried to pull her foot free but instead slipped and fell forward, her hands flailing out in front of her to catch her fall as she hurtled toward the water's surface.

"Oh!"

Two strong hands wrapped around her waist and managed to pull her back just before she hit the water, and Mary clutched a hand to her heart in shock as her glasses were knocked off her face and landed on the stones with a clatter.

"Wha-?"

Whoever had grabbed her pulled her back from the pond, until she could gain her footing on even ground. Mary closed her eyes and let out a deep, relieved breath before turning toward her savior, but could only make out indistinct blurs of light and shadow. Curse her terrible eyesight.

"My glasses... I-I can't see anything," she mumbled, and after a moment, she felt them pressed against the palm of her hand.

"Oh, Goddess, thank yo-"

After hurriedly wiping the glasses off on her skirt and positioning them on her face, Mary froze and took a step back as her eyes focused on the person standing before her, an unfamiliar man with shining silver hair and a teasing smirk playing over his face. The kind of seductive smirk that made Mary weak at the knees, though it was usually directed at Muffy or Karen or even Claire, never her.

The strange man chuckled softly at her obvious discomfort, his catlike eyes scrutinizing her. "Oh, no need to thank me, my dear maiden. The pleasure was all mine. I'm sure a nighttime swim in the Goddess Pond was not what you came here for." He raised a questioning eyebrow and took a step closer. "But what, may I ask, is a lovely lady such as yourself doing here in the forest so late at night, all alone?"

Mary bit her lip anxiously. She hadn't the faintest idea who this man was, and felt a mixture of curiosity and unease in his presence. After all, he had called her lovely… Mary had never been complimented in such a manner before, as she wasn't exactly flourishing in the looks department as compared to other girls, so why had he? Especially when he was incredibly attractive and charming, himself…

Mary blushed at the thought, quickly averting her eyes. What was she thinking? She had never seen this man before! He could be a murderer, for all she knew, though admittedly, she doubted that was likely.

"What I'm doing here is none of your business," Mary managed to respond, much more bravely than she felt. "…Who are you, anyway?"

The man smirked at her teasingly, his eyes unblinking. "You, my dear, may call me Phantom Skye... the charming ladies' man and prince of the stars." His voice was soft and had an almost musical quality to it. "It has a nice ring to it, don't you agree?"

Without waiting for a response, he took another step closer and asked, "And who might you be, beautiful?"

"My name is Mary," she narrowed her eyes at him, her distrust gaining her confidence despite her rapidly beating heart, "and I may as well tell you right now, you can't fool me with flattery."

The mysterious man, Skye, merely laughed, and Mary felt as though he were simply humoring her, a cat toying with a mouse. "Of course. But I'm not trying to pull the wool over your eyes, so to speak... I only tell it as I see it." He took another step closer, and Mary could swear she felt his breath tickle her ear. "Pretty and intelligent... Any man would be lucky to win over such a prize."

"I-I'm sorry, but I really must be on my way," Mary interrupted with a tremble in her voice, her embarrassment showing in the blush now rapidly spreading over her cheeks as she began to back away. "It's getting rather late…"

"So it is, so it is," Skye conceded, brushing the fringe of silvery hair from his brow. He lifted a pale hand to her, palm up. "Darling, allow me to escort you."

Mary quickly shook her head, her eyes wide with thinly veiled panic. "Oh, no… no, that won't be necessary. I-I can manage on my own."

"As you wish." He took a step back and winked at her. "But we shall meet again soon. It's written in the stars."

Mary scurried out of the forest and back to the mansion without a second look, her chest heaving. She didn't stop until she reached the front door and opened it as silently as she could manage, immensely relieved to find the room empty but for the two cats asleep on the piano bench. Lumina, Ms. Romana, and Sebastian must have already gone off to bed. Nobody was there to question her about her late night wanderings or labored breathing.

As soon as she returned to her room, she began to write, her hand still shaking with nervousness. After this encounter, her writer's block was replaced by a multitude of new ideas that flooded her mind, just waiting to be put on paper - scenes depicting the adventures of a young lady haunted by a mysterious but handsome and wickedly charming stranger in a faraway land…

Mary imagined the man's piercing turquoise eyes, and despite the unsettling mixture of feelings he had aroused in her, she couldn't help but feel strangely grateful. Thank you, Phantom Skye…

It seemed Lumina was right, and she had finally found her inspiration.

"Do you know anyone in the valley by the name of Phantom Skye?"

At the mention of the name, Lumina immediately glanced up from her plate of scrambled eggs to stare at Mary, a questioning look on her face. "Phantom Skye?" she repeated.

Mary nodded, poking a knife into the jar of jam on the table. "Yes… have you heard of him?"

Lumina nodded warily. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh!" Mary shyly spread grape jam over her toast, refusing to meet the brunette's gaze. "Well, I, um… just overhead some people talking at the inn yesterday, and they mentioned his name, but I had never heard of him before, so I was merely wondering…"

Lumina still didn't look convinced, but she simply sighed and took a sip of her tea. "Phantom Skye is famous around these parts – or should I say infamous. Just about everyone has heard of him. He's a thief!"

"A thief?" Mary repeated in shock. Lumina nodded. "Yes, but not just any old thief. He has his own way of doing things… a different way. Before he steals something from you, he leaves a note beforehand, warning you of the upcoming theft! And yet he always manages to get away, regardless…"

She leaned forward over the table conversationally, her voice lowered. "I haven't seen him yet, but to be honest, I've always wanted to… I heard that he's very handsome. He left a note before, here at the Villa, but I missed him! Apparently, though, he-"

She broke off just as her grandmother Romana entered the room, tailed by her butler Sebastian. "Did I overhear you two talking about Skye?"

Lumina looked sheepish, but her grandmother was undeterred. "That good-for-nothing thief stole some of my finest china!"

Behind her, Sebastian nodded solemnly. "And he took some of our rarest, high-quality ingredients from the kitchen."

Mary could barely believe what she was hearing. Could the man she had met the night before really be a criminal? He may have been rather sly and quite a flirt, in a way that made her feel more uncomfortable than she had ever felt before, but Mary had no idea he was a thief.

Somehow, however, she was intrigued at the idea… At the very least, she now had even more new plans for her novel. It seemed that coming to Forget-Me-Not to write worked out well, after all, as now she couldn't wait to begin writing again.

And not only that, but Skye had told her they would meet again... that it was written in the stars. Oddly enough, Mary found herself wishing it to be true.

A week came and went, and Mary returned to Forget-Me-Not Valley for another weekend. She was now churning out scene after scene of her fantasy romance novel. It was like a switch had flipped in her mind, and while she had once struggled to write so much as a single sentence, she now couldn't even write fast enough to keep up with all the words and ideas swirling around her head.

It was that weekend that they met for the second time.

Mary heard a knock on the window of the guest room while in the middle of writing a particularly romantic scene, and she turned to see that silver hair and catlike eyes watching her, even though her room was on the second floor of the mansion.

She opened the window and let him in, only half reluctant and wholly confused – "How did you get up here?" – and he merely laughed and said that he'd climbed.

"But why?"

"To see you." He coolly swept his hair back with two fingers and laughed again, as if amused by a joke that only he had heard. "I told you we would meet again, dear, and here I am. Almost as if fate has drawn us together."

"How did you even know I was here?" Mary asked, utterly bewildered. "I don't live here… My home is at the library in Mineral Town, over the mountain."

Skye winked at her, sending a chill down Mary's spine as he fiddled absentmindedly with the sleeve of his leopard-print shirt. "I know everything that goes on in the valley… let's just say, I have my ways."

He then crossed the room toward her desk and picked up the scattered parts of the novel she had been working on when she was so rudely interrupted, and scanned them with his turquoise eyes.

Embarrassed, Mary tried to snatch the papers from his grasp – "That's my novel! It's not finished yet!" – and Skye stared at her and began to ask her every question under the moon about both her story and her library, which was entirely unexpected.

"I didn't know you were interested in books," Mary finally said, and Skye shrugged in response. "There's a lot you wouldn't know about me…"

He only left when Mary heard a tentative knock on her bedroom door –"Miss Mary? Is everything all right? I heard a lot of noise coming from your room," – and, flustered, Mary tried to put everything back in place before opening it for Sebastian.

"Oh! Sebastian, don't worry about me, I'm fine. I was just… working on my novel, as you see."

She smiled sweetly, and the butler retreated with a sigh – "All right, but don't stay up too late, it's bad for your health," – and Mary turned back to face her room.

To her surprise, Skye was already long gone, leaving only the curtain swaying in the gentle breeze from the wide open window.

It wasn't too long before Mary found herself spending more and more time in Forget-Me-Not Valley that summer, under the pretense of continuing to work on her latest novel and spending time with Lumina. That, however, was only a half-truth, as in the back of her mind, she knew she was mostly attracted to the valley on the off chance that she might see Phantom Skye again on a warm, clear night.

She always seemed to meet up with him, or discover traces of him, at the strangest times.

One particularly calm night, Mary found herself sitting on the beach in the moonlight, her bare toes just touching the water that washed up against the sand, and turned to see that she was not so alone after all. Skye sat down beside her with a flirtatious wink, and Mary felt her heart leap.

"The ocean sure is beautiful tonight... as are you."

For once, Mary did't respond to his compliment. "It is, isn't it?" She leaned back and sighed. "It's so peaceful... the water, the stars... I could sit here forever."

After that, they didn't speak, but sat together in silence until the faintest trace of pinkish-orange sunrise could be seen over the horizon, and Mary turned to see that he had already left.

Another night, they crossed paths on the bridge, and after hearing a gentle "Hello again, beautiful," Mary decided to ask him.

"Why do you keep calling me beautiful? I know I'm not even close… not me. I'm just plain old Mary, dull hair and old clothes and glasses and all, you don't have to try and flatter me."

And Skye smiled with a wink and told her, "Oh, but my dear, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is it not?"

But Mary never did ask him just how many other girls he had given the same lines to. Maybe he didn't care for her at all when it came right down to it, perhaps he was merely playing with her affections, but regardless, seeing him, hearing his voice, gave her a thrill that she just couldn't give up.

Yet another time, while she was at her home in Mineral Town, Mary entered the library one morning and discovered a handwritten note on her desk, right beside a curry cookbook that Mary recognized from her own shelves, but had not been left there by herself.

To the lovely librarian-

I decided to finally bless your little library with my presence, and I might just have to help myself to a book or two.

With love, Phantom Skye

Curiously, Mary turned to the shelf nearest her, and there was a gaping hole between the books where another novel had been.

She shook her head in amusement. That was her novel he had stolen - one she had written herself. And for some reason, she wasn't angry that he had taken it, nor was she embarrassed. No, she was happy.

"You've been acting funny lately," Lumina said the next time Mary stayed with her in Forget-Me-Not. The brunette turned on the piano bench to scrutinize the bespectacled girl standing a few feet beside her, putting her practiced melody to an abrupt pause. Beneath the bench, one of the cats let out a plaintive mew. "Tell me - is it a man?"

"A man?" Mary immediately blushed, and Lumina pointed at her triumphantly. "Yes! It is a man! Who is it? Tell me everything!"

Mary sighed. "There's nothing to tell." And no way she could admit that she had feelings for Skye, of all people. Luckily, Lumina didn't press the matter any further.

"Fine..." she crossed her arms over her chest, "How's your novel going, then?"

Mary immediately perked up; this time, she didn't have to lie about her progress. "Oh, I'm doing wonderfully! In fact, the first draft is nearly finished. Just a bit of revision left to do."

Lumina grinned at her. "Oh, that's great news! See, I knew you would find your inspiration soon enough."

Her next topic of conversation was unexpected, to say the least.

"Anyway, did I tell you how I finally met Phantom Skye?" Lumina's hazel eyes practically glowed with wistful excitement, and Mary struggled to keep her feelings of unease at bay.

"No, I don't think you did…"

"Well," the brunette went on, "he showed up at the mansion again, just earlier this week in fact, and this time I nearly caught him in the act! Oh, he looked so handsome in the moonlight…" She giggled shyly. "And he told me I was beautiful, can you believe that?"

"Uh huh," Mary affirmed, not really listening.

"I didn't manage to catch him, though. I was so close, but somehow he still managed to slip away, even after I went after him… I don't know, I just kind of froze up when he spoke to me. Either way, Auntie certainly wasn't too happy."

"But did you hear the news?" Lumina eagerly added. "Apparently, Skye is planning to strike the Inner Inn next! And Rock told me himself that he's determined to catch that thief, once and for all!"

"Really…" Mary knew that Skye had successfully raided many homes in Forget-Me-Not Valley, so she didn't know why she was suddenly feeling nervous for him. But she shrugged the feeling off for the time being, since worrying about it now wouldn't do a thing. Not until that night, it seemed.

"Lumina!" Romana interjected from another room. "I don't hear you practicing!"

With a sigh, Lumina returned her attention to the piano, but not before giving Mary a meaningful look.

That night, there was a new crispness carried on the breeze that hinted at cool autumn weather to come. Mary leaned against the wooden railing of the bridge and sighed, watching the river flow under her feet and out toward the ocean. As she had told Lumina earlier, her novel was now just about complete, and the only decision left was whether or not to actually let anyone read it. Although she did stock a few of her own books on the library shelves, like the story Skye had "borrowed," most of her works were kept hidden from the world until she finally worked up the courage to show it to someone.

Taking one last glance at the ocean in the distance, Mary turned to leave just as someone on the bridge bumped into her, causing her to nearly lose her footing. She steadied herself against the rail as said person took her by the hand and lifted her to your feet.

"Oh dear, I apologize for that," Skye amended, and for the first time, Mary could see a flicker of panic in his eyes, before it was replaced by that familiar coquettish gleam. "It seems I have a knack for running into pretty maidens." He glanced over his shoulder. "Unfortunately, I cannot stay and chat, as much as I'd love to – I'm a bit pressed for time, you see."

Mary followed his gaze, and saw a crowd of people congregated around the Inner Inn. Their raised voices could just barely be made out over the sound of the river from where she and Skye stood on the bridge. He had to have stolen something. "What did you do?"

Skye shrugged; while it was obvious he knew exactly what he did to enrage the citizens of Forget-Me-Not, he wasn't giving away any details. "Let's just say, we both know that I can work magic on the ladies, but taking on the entire village at once is not in my area of expertise. But it would help if you looked the other way...?"

"Fine," Mary immediately gave in. She couldn't believe she was doing this. "I'll let you go, but hurry! I-I'll lead them in a different direction so you can escape."

Skye quickly stepped closer and grasped one of Mary's hands in his own. "Oh, you really don't have to-"

"Nonsense!" Mary whispered, ignoring the feel of his mysteriously cool hand. He was so close, she could smell the scent on his clothes - almost spicy and strangely enticing, like curry. "You… you helped me that night I almost fell into the Goddess Pond, so just think of this as my way of thanking you."

Skye smiled, and this time it lacked any of the teasing that Mary usually saw in his expression. "Thank you, Mary."

Mary blushed at the way he had actually said her name for once, but urged him forward. "Just go, before they catch up! Quickly now!"

To her surprise, he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers for a few seconds before escaping over the bridge toward the mountain path with one last wave.

"Until we meet again, Mary."

Mary raised a hand to her lips in wonder, her cheeks pink. Her first kiss…?

She was jolted from her thought by the sound of many marching feet, and turned to see a majority of the Forget-Me-Not villagers approaching, headed by Rock.

"Mary! We're looking for that rotten thief, Skye!" He announced with an air of bravado that sent an uncharacteristic prickle of annoyance down her spine. "Which way did he go? Did you see?"

She nodded, still slightly dazed from the kiss. "Oh, I mean, yes! I've been standing here a while, and the thief didn't cross this bridge. He must have gone off down toward the beach!"

"Well, you heard her! Come on, we can't let him get away!"

As the crowd heeded her information and turned away, Mary let out a sigh of relief, feeling equal parts tense and thrilled. Imagine, a plain bespectacled girl like herself, helping an infamous thief escape arrest, sending him off with a kiss, and then covering up for him by lying to the entire village… Her cheeks were still flushed with excitement, as the ghost of the touch of Skye's surprisingly soft lips still lingered against her own.

Maybe they would see each other again… Perhaps Skye was right, and it really was written in the stars. It was written in her novel, at the very least.