Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

Prologue
Witch

It was tiring... living for so long.

War, death, famine, disease –the pain was an endless cycle. No matter how far humans advanced, they still could not escape from the clutches of this web. She saw it all, repeating itself. Time and time again, she watched helplessly as humans fought and friends died. Time and time again she watched her treasured world crumble... until she could no longer bear the pain.

She fled.

It was simple being alone. All she had to do was worry about herself. That was all that mattered.

Many lonely years passed and she found herself in an isolated forest. No one would find her here. She could live happily alone, free from pain for the rest of her days.

Decades passed by and the Witch willed herself to forget about the outside world. She spent her days mixing potions and finding ways to entertain herself.

Then she came across another magical being. Kind, elegant, and beautiful. She called herself the Harvest Goddess and the Witch couldn't help but feel drawn to her. Here was someone that the cold clutches of death couldn't take from her. Though she didn't dare call the other being a friend, there was comfort in knowing that someone was there.

Slowly, humans trickled into her surroundings. She had grown fond of her home though, and managed to ignore them as long as they didn't stumble across her abode. They occasionally formed a good source of entertainment. She had learned that taking life too seriously was painful. As long as she didn't grow attached to these insignificant creatures, she was satisfied.

"Completely satisfied," Witch repeated to herself as she wistfully watched the humans celebrate another festival.

"You don't look so sure," the Harvest Goddess smiled softly from her position beside Witch.

"I don't need them," Witch affirmed, her nose in the air.

Wizard moved in. She ignored him for the most part, though they would cross paths once in a while. They each focused on their own work and that was good enough for her.

Time passed. Then her world fell apart once again. The land was weakening, the Goddess Tree dying and the Harvest Goddess began to fade away. A familiar pain twisted itself like a knife in her heart. She couldn't allow this to happen.

Ignoring Wizard's warning, she set out to cast a spell to revive the Goddess Tree. She couldn't stand around and watch the Harvest Goddess weaken, disappear... die. She had to do something. If she didn't do anything then she would feel that terrible pain once again.

And she ended up becoming a frog.

Weeks passed and she miserably forced herself to live on by eating flies. Wizard would change her back, right? She repeated the words to herself day after day. He would come and help her.

Time continued to pass by. She was losing hope. Why hasn't he come?

Then, one day, she heard her door slowly creak open to reveal a terrified human.

At first, she was irritated --she didn't want any of those annoying humans in her house. Yet, it seemed that she was her only hope. It might take years before anyone else stumbled across her home. Frantically leaping in front of the young woman, she croaked urgently, trying to communicate her message. With a yelp of fright, the young woman fled and the witch was left in the cold, forgotten darkness once again. Hiding in a corner, the frog closed her eyes and tried to ignore the malicious whispers in her mind.

Weeks passed.

When her door opened once again, and she spotted Wizard and the young woman, the witch could have wept with relief. Of course, she wouldn't admit it.

"What the heck took you so long?!" were the words that she had angrily asked Wizard immediately after rejoicing over regaining her regular body. At that time, she had wanted to rip off his calm and stoic expression. He couldn't understand the terror that had haunted her day after day. She was so scared that she would have remained a frog forever.

His reply had been something along the lines of "I told you so." She threw a temper tantrum and ordered him off of her property. The human girl returned, and Witch had snapped angrily at her, still in a foul mood.

Feeling a little guilty upon realizing that the young woman had helped her, Witch allowed her to leave with the Green Bell. If it hadn't been for the young woman, the Witch suspected that she would have remained a frog forever because surely, that stupid wizard wouldn't have ever gotten off his butt to create a potion to turn her back to normal.

The young woman, Akari, returned to Witch's home to chat and offer gifts day after day. Witch accepted the gifts; after all, it would have been a waste to refuse them. She found herself growing fond of Akari and mentally berated herself. She couldn't be caring for another human. Akari was mortal. She would die and leave her behind, just like all her other human friends. She couldn't care about Akari, no matter how kind the young woman was to her –no matter how many old and happy memories the girl forced her to remember. Sitting uncomfortably on the wooden floor, the Witch willed herself to ignore the outside world and forget what it felt like to have friends.

"She doesn't mean anything to me," she mumbled haughtily. "She's just another form of entertainment."

Then she saw Akari and Wizard falling in love.

Weeks passed and Witch continued to watch the two from afar. Wizard was a cautious person. Surely, he knew what would happen if the relationship progressed. For goodness sakes, he had a crystal ball!

Whether it was for Akari or Wizard, another magical being like herself, Witch had found herself in front of the wizard one evening.

"Your relationship with Akari will end in pain," she warned him, her eyes serious.

"I know..."

But the relationship continued... and Witch noted bitterly that Wizard didn't turn into a frog for ignoring her warning.

Akari proposed to Wizard and they swore their love to one another.

Despite her disapproval, Witch couldn't help but notice how happy Akari was after the marriage. Old memories stirred in her mind again and Witch pushed them back into the dark corner of her mind. Despite knowing the pain that they both will face in the end, Witch couldn't help but feel a little envious. She pushed her dark thoughts aside. Things would be fine for the time being.

Akari managed somehow to save the Harvest Goddess and Witch's life seemed to have returned to normal. Or at least, close to normal. She couldn't ignore Akari's presence.

"How are you today?" Akari asked pleasantly.

"Fine," Witch smirked, trying to hide her happiness upon seeing the farmer.

Unwillingly, the young woman had altered the witch.

"I can't think about it," Witch whispered, pressing her forehead against the cool surface of her bed post one evening, once again trying to ignore the outside world. She didn't need warmth, friendship, love... It was just too painful to think about it. She'd rather forget and be happy.

Years passed and Witch watched silently as Akari's body slowly weakened. Pain took hold of her heart every time that she saw the woman. When had she grown so attached to her? She couldn't allow this to continue, yet what could she do?

"Stop visiting me."

The woman had looked at her in confusion and Witch felt tears welling in her eyes. She could do this. Tossing her hair behind her back, Witch gazed firmly at Akari. Surely, the farmer deserved more than this after all she had done to save the land but the world was unfair and Akari was mortal, and thus fated to pass away.

"Listen..." Witch said, looking Akari in the eye. Her nails dug into her palms as she forced her hands to stop shaking. "Make as many happy memories as you can with Wizard. Life is short. So... stop wasting your time visiting me!"

She forced Akari out of her house and locked the door. Witch cried that night, and the many nights that followed. Akari had returned day after day, knocking on her door but Witch refused to see the woman. Eventually, the farmer gave up and she was alone once again.

Time passed. Witch didn't bother to count the days anymore and just spent her time mixing potions and practicing spells. The outside world didn't matter to her. All that mattered was herself. If she kept repeating this mantra, she would forget. And she could be happy.

Then one day, her door was blasted open.

She turned around to yell at the intruder but her voice died in her throat when she saw the expression on Wizard's face. Involuntarily, she drew Wizard into her arms as he cried. Tremors raked through his body and his heart shook with vulnerability and pain, just as hers had many times before. The tears that Witch thought she had used up streaked down her cheeks once again.