I haven't decided yet, but it's getting more and more likely that this will be a collection of one-shots about Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, as I write them. I'll be using the female version of Grand Bazaar, and her name will be Chelsea (since I like that name from another Harvest Moon Game...and naming her Claire would potentially make things confusing) and she'll be married to Ivan (since that's the only character I have married in this game so far). Even though the main character doesn't really say much, I'll try to keep her personality as close as I can to how the game portrays her.

Under Amir's Watch

When Amir first arrived at Zephyr Town, it looked nothing like he had heard about. There were no flowers blooming 'at any which place you looked' (as he had been told by the mayor, Felix), the villagers were not chattering happily to each other, and the excitement about the potential for the next bazaar did not fill the air. He felt a little disappointed and wondered if maybe he should just head back home and start looking for a new place to travel to.

But then again, it was Winter, and Zephyr Town did look beautiful with snow on the ground. And Amir did have to admit he arrived to the town rather late at night, so children would probably be at home enjoying dinner with their family. He decided to give the town a chance. Plus, it was too late to start heading back home anyway.

As he walked along the streets alongside Felix, who had graciously offered to lend him a room at his home for the night before checking him in at the hotel tomorrow, he struck up a conversation with the friendly mayor.

"I apologize for arriving so late at night, but I guess the delay on the train went longer than expected."

Felix just laughed. "Delays happen all the time, there's no need to apologize. Ah, but I wish you could've arrived even just a season earlier. You missed all our flower fields."

"Ah, about that...by the time I had decided I wanted to travel to Zephyr Town, Autumn had arrived, so I had to stay around for my father's birthday. The celebration lasts all month, too."

"The king, huh?"

"Yes." As they approached a mansion, and what Amir could only assume was Felix's home, Amir looked around the small village one last time. At night, the town seemed very lonely, but he could see light through the windows of the other homes, bringing him a sense of warmth. Maybe he would like this place after all.

The next day, Felix had ushered him out the door early in the morning, much to the bewildered senses of Amir. When he demanded answers while near literally being pulled along the streets, Felix mumbled something about meeting someone to show him around town.

After a 20-minute walk through the town, passing all the homes, a cafe and a general store, Amir was beginning to worry he had made a mistake. He was no longer in the populated centre of Zephyr Town, he had passed a cabin and a waterfall, and he still hadn't encountered the person Felix said he wanted him to meet. Panic was beginning to set in. Had he made a mistake in trusting a complete stranger? Amir was a prince, after all. Plenty of people had tried to take advantage of his status for one reason or another. Amir looked around waiting for a good chance to start making a run for it.

But before he could make his escape, a moderately sized house entered his view surrounded by fields. A white cat lazed about on the rooftop eyeing the chickens that roamed in an outdoor pin nearby, while a large, black dog ran around a few cows and sheep, wagging its tail joyfully.

"A...farm?" he couldn't help but ask outloud.

"The girl who lives here arrived to Zephyr Town in the early Spring of this year and she's been a great help to our bazaar. I'd like her to show you around town since she offers a newer perspective to this place than an older resident would," Felix laughed. "I'm sure she'll help you in any way she can. She's a very helpful girl and makes time for everyone."

As they entered the house, Amir encountered his soon-to-be companion. She had wavy, golden-hair with violet eyes the matched her hat. She smiled questioningly as Felix introduced Amir to the young woman, whom he learned was named Chelsea. Amir gave a slight frown when Felix mentioned about his status (he had asked Felix to keep his royalty status a secret), but decided to ignore it for now. Chelsea seemed to agree to not mention it to anyone and she didn't seem to have any aversions to showing him around town. Amir thanked her and left her to her work.

"So you really did want to introduce me to someone..." Amir mumbled, immediately regretting voicing his thoughts.

Felix turned to him and laughed. "Of course. What did you think I was going to do? Kidnap you for ransom?"

Amir suddenly felt his face flush slightly as embarrassment crept across his face. "N-nothing" Quickly regaining his composure, Amir retorted "And you said you wouldn't tell anyone that I'm a prince!"

He didn't know what to expect from Felix, but he didn't think he'd ever see a man so tall and muscular run away as fast as Felix.

As the days passed on, Amir quickly learned why Felix had written so lovingly of the town he was mayor of. The people were warm and friendly, and the village itself had a charm that his own hometown didn't possess. He couldn't quite pinpoint what that charm was, but it was undeniably there.

Attending the bazaars the village held was both exciting and aggravating. Sometimes he felt like he was being pushed around by other shoppers and at other times he knew he was among the pushier ones, trying to buy that one last item on sale. Finding a new item on sale to send back home as a souvenir was exhilarating. He knew his sister loved receiving things in the mail. Chelsea's bazaar always seemed to have the widest variety of merchandise, so he found himself hanging around her bazaar more often than not. For the first few bazaars he was in attendance, he worried that he was annoying her, but she never once seemed to have a cross face with him. Chelsea would chat animatedly with him when the customers were slow talking to him about all the villagers, the games the children played, what gossip she had heard about from Claire and Nellie and Ivan's love for teaching. To Amir, it was obvious she loved this town very much.

It might have been his imagination, but he felt like a big part of the reason Zephyr Town's bazaar had started regaining a reputation around the world was because of her. While everyone wanted the bazaar to be a success, she seemed to put her whole being into bringing in the customers. She would help out lost children, confused customers who lost their glasses, and people who were hungry even if it meant losing money she could have made off an item. She did yell at a few children who dared to play dangerously around her table but the kids seemed to learn their lesson after that.

Amir smiled as the days went on and he had to admit he enjoyed spending time with Chelsea. He'd write to his sister again today, he decided. He wanted her to know about Chelsea and the bazaar. He discovered he really did like watching her.

Some days, Amir would visit Chelsea in her home and she'd always greet him with a smile on her face, asking him to stay for dinner and would talk about their day. One evening near the end of winter, she mentioned that spring was soon approaching so her time would become much more limited, but he was still invited anytime. Her face turned a slight red tinge before she continued on, "I'll finally be able to make more of the herb perfume that Ivan likes."

For a moment, Amir didn't say a word and he put down the fork he had been using to eat the delicious stew she had made. He had heard her mention Ivan before, and he was sure he'd seen Ivan around town during the month he'd been in Zephyr Town, but he had never actually met him. Chelsea had explained that Ivan was a tutor in the city a few days during the week, and the weather had been pretty miserable this year, so many residents preferred to stay home if they didn't have work to do. So he didn't pay much attention to this Ivan until now. But, thinking back, he remembered all the times she mentioned this Ivan, he was a subject she spoke about more often than the others. And sometimes her smile would get just a bit brighter while walking along the road. If she found a lavender, she always mentioned about saving it for herb perfume.

He always thought that perfume was for going to be for her or for sale at the bazaar.

Amir watched her movements for another short moment. The smile she had on right now wasn't for him, but for Ivan and all those times she spoke of that man, those smiles were for that man. He wanted to say something to her, but he was at a loss for words. He couldn't help feeling jealous, but he couldn't blame anyone. Ivan met her first, after all. But he could tell her right now, he could tell her how much the time he spent with her meant to him...

After what felt like an eternity, he finally found his voice. "Chelsea, I...I...I hope the herb perfume comes out well," he said with a sad smile before finishing up his stew and getting up from the table. She flashed him a brilliant smile back to him as she gathered the dishes.

As spring passed on and summer neared its end, Amir had watched Chelsea run about her farm or the town, doing her daily chores. It looked tiresome and sometimes seemed like more work than one person should do, but she never complained. He had once offered to help her out with some of the work, but he quickly discovered himself to be useless with the farming tasks. He scared a cow while trying to milk it and almost received a swift kick to the face from said cow and the sheep just ran circles around him when he tried to shear them. He offered to pay for the plants he had accidentally trampled over trying to water some other plants, but Chelsea had waved him off. She did hurry him off the farm after a day of chaos, though.

Among those days, Amir had finally met Ivan while trying to help at the farm. Ivan seemed harmless enough to Amir, and he was certainly friendly, but Amir still couldn't shake the jealousy that would overtake his mind every once in awhile. He felt left out when those two were together, so he'd quickly excuse himself and go somewhere else in the town.

The two finally announced their engagement and Zephyr Town was abuzz with excitement. There hadn't been a wedding in a long time, so all the women in the village went around gossiping or spending more time at Chelsea's farm as usual to help prepare for the big day. The date had been set for a few days before the end of summer and Amir couldn't help but chuckle a little at the timing. His father's birthday was fast approaching and he'd have to return to his hometown to celebrate. Maybe he'd go home earlier than expected and avoid the wedding...

But with just one request from her, he still attended anyway. Chelsea told him she wanted him there and so there he was. As expected, the entire town attended the wedding and the two looked happier than he had seen either of them. He continued to watch the ceremony and couldn't help but get caught up in the festivities. Amir let out a happy expression and when the party started he could honestly say "Congratulations" to the couple.

Before leaving for home, Amir made one last appearance at Chelsea's (and Ivan's) home. He wanted to say goodbye and thank her for all her hospitality.

For the first time since he'd met her, Chelsea had looked upset. "Are you coming back?"

Looking her in the eye, Amir finally decided to tell her what he had wanted to say for a long time, "I really love... the villagers here and the flowers are spectacular. I'll return when the celebration was over." Okay, so he chickened out. But, he really did learn to love the village. Felix's description of Zephyr Town hadn't done it justice.

He wanted to return to Zephyr Town as soon as he could, and he would. He wanted to continue watching.

Aha, sorry if it seemed a bit quick-paced at the end there. This ended up being much longer than I wanted it to be.