Chapter 1: The Newest Face

The brunette bent over her desk, sighing as she jotted down a few more notes. Her brown eyes were seemingly dull. Only those who looked closely could see that her breath seemed to hitch for a moment before she blinked rapidly, stifling whatever emotions she seemed to be having before turning back to her work. She worked mindlessly, not stopping until the work day was done, reaching then to open a worn drawer. Trembling hands reached inside to pull out a letter, paper slightly yellowed with age. As the office emptied out around her, she opened the letter.

She smiled politely at the odd pair, the older male trying too hard for her taste while the redhaired female apparently just wanted to sell her on upgrades. Not that she'd have the funds for those anytime soon, if ever. She did have other responsibilities after all.

After a large amount of smiling and nodding, she breathed a sigh of relief as their figures retreated into the distance. Short brown hair flew into her face as she jogged quickly back towards the bus station stopping short of the exit to her quaint farm as a maroon jeep pulled in, stopping quickly by the house. By the looks of the farm, she was lucky there was a path way large enough for it to get through.

"Thanks, for the help sis," she called out, rushing forwards to pull open the doors of the jeep, a rare smile on her lips as two large black dogs jumped out of the car, knocking her to the ground.

"You're welcome, Liz," the woman called as she rolled down the window. A strained smile appeared on Liz's face as she opened the passenger side door and took a large, grey carrier from the seat. "Are you sure you don't want me to help you move in," her sister continued, a concerned look on her face.

"Nah, I'm good," came the reply. "I've done this a few times before."

"But this time you're on your own. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am. I know you and your husband wanted to finish putting together the nursery before the baby comes." A pointed look was directed at the driver's large middle. "Thanks for bringing the kids, though. I'll be sure to call if I need anything, promise." With that, she shut the door and took a step back, effectively dismissing her sister. "I'll invite you over once I have this place cleaned up a bit, okay?" The younger woman frowned but sighed, seemingly accepting that that was the most she could hope for and put the car in reverse, shaking her head. Lizzy smiled and waved as her sister drove off, it fading as soon as that car disappeared around the bend. The brunette bent slowly, almost as if it hurt her to do so, placing the carrier on the ground and opening it.

"Sorry Maxwell," she apologized softly as a black cat meowed and stretched before trotting over to the larger of the two dogs. "I had to get you here somehow. I know you hate car rides." She looked over at the two dogs who stared back up at her, brown eyes begging. "Oh fine. You two go play. Go on!" With that, the pair took off, dashing around the property as the woman shook her head. When they were younger, Liz would have never dreamed of letting them go off without a leash. She figured, though, that out here there wasn't much to hurt them. Besides, they both were rescues and had horrible anxiety; they checked on her so often a leash wasn't necessary. She followed them carefully, surveying the property for the first time. It looked just awful. Trees were everywhere, some horribly sickly. Where there weren't trees, grass and weeds grew, all reaching her knee even though it was just the beginning of spring. The worst part, though, were the hidden "surprises" in the grass. She had almost twisted her ankle more than once because of the branches and stones. She whistled loudly and headed back towards the porch, cursing loudly as she tripped and hit the ground. Immediately, she was surrounded by black fur, worried brown eyes looking into her own. "Toby, I'm fine," she reassured the larger dog, holding his white paw as he offered it to her and placing a soft kiss on it before standing up. The other bounded up soon after, black speckled tongue to the side. "Lucy let's go inside. I need to get you guys some water; it's going to be a long day outside for sure."

Food might be the biggest problem, Lizzy decided as she stood, heaving as she used her shovel as support. She didn't really think about bringing much, and she didn't have money for it either. Rather, she didn't have money for food for herself and for the pets, and if she had to choose then, well, there wasn't really much of a choice. She would rather starve than let those three go hungry. They already had dealt with enough before she adopted them anyway. On the bright side, she did manage to get all the parsnip seeds that the mayor had left her into the ground. She supposed she ought to thank him. Maybe she should run into town; she needed more seeds anyway. And some pet food. She dusted her hands off onto her blue jeans and staggered towards the exit of the farm, her dogs heeding a soft command to "go play" as she'd "be right back." Lewis had also suggested that she introduce herself to the townsfolk. She supposed it couldn't hurt to do that either.

The walk was harder than she thought it would be, probably because of the amount of squatting and bending she had had to do earlier. She managed to stumble into the shop a good hour before it closed, though, so at least she wasn't being too rude. She grabbed the cheapest bag of grain free pet food she could find and set it on the counted, starting as a sandy haired man ran up, a wide grin on his face.

"You must be the new farmer! Welcome to the valley. I'm Pierre. My wife and I run this shop with our daughter Abigail. Be sure to stop by if you need anything."

"A-Ah yeah. I'm Lizzy. Thanks."

"Will that be all for you?" He practically beamed. "Would you like bags?"

"I want to buy some seeds, actually. Could I have a three cauliflower seed packets, a potato seed packet, and a green bean seed packet?" She asked, staring intently at the sales counter. "Bags would be great, please."

She quietly counted out the money, laying out the exact amount on the counter before grabbing the bags and turning to leave. "Have a nice day."

Brown eyes closed, she exited the store in a rush, nearly bumping into a purple haired girl that she could only assume was Pierre's daughter. Who else would be going into the shop so close to close? "Sorry," she quickly apologized. "I didn't see you."

"It's fine," the girl said, almost dismissively, though it was obvious she was curious. "It's a shame you moved into that old place. I liked exploring it."

Liz's cheeks flushed red as she simply turned and fled back towards the farmhouse. People were rude everywhere, she supposed; though being this far out, it didn't surprise her too much. It was human to hate change, after all.

Don't take it to heart, she reminded herself quietly. Alan would just say she's an ass and move on. You should too.

After greeting some excited-to-see-her puppies, she fed her animals and got back to work, planting and watering the seeds before forcing herself to clear some more of those dangerous weeds. She needed to clear a big enough square to plant more crops once the time came, and even more if she wanted to build some things. She shoved some items into the selling bin that she didn't need and put the rest in a rusty old chest she had found behind the house before heading to the small pond on her property. It didn't look too bad, and she was in desperate need of a wash. Before she could change her mind, Liz jumped in, clothes and all, splashing around in the water until her skin turned back to it's natural ivory hue. There was no point in washing her hair if she'd just get dirty tomorrow; one trip in town was enough for her for one week, anyway. She could explore the rest of this place while avoiding it anyway.

Brown locks plastered themselves to her neck as Liz walked inside, suddenly exhausted by the day's events. It was only 9, but that was late enough. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day.