Tale of Two Towns: The Move

[Juxapose]

I got pretty bored, so I decided to do a fic about Nori and Vale's marriage after they move to Bluebell. Nori will try to adapt to a new life away from her hometown, and into a strange new town.

Chapter 1: Prelude

There is a place far from the cities where two groups of people live. A settlement where two neighboring towns divided by a tall mountain. At one point, the towns were bitter enemies over which town cooked better. But after a special new member joined the Farming town Konohana, he was able to end the feud and bring the town together.

On the third year of living in Konohana, Vale married his true love. Her name is Nori, a talented seamstress that live in the local seed shop in Konohana. Since Vale is a farmer, Nori and Vale got to now each other very well. Eventually, their friendship bloomed to marriage.

Nori now lives in Vale's farm in Konohana. Two years has passed, and they have been very happy living together. Slowly, the farm has grown into a massive field of crops and trees. A pond is also built to harvest high quality fish. A maker shed is also built to make seeds and pickled goods to sell and eat. 

Nori has been happy living in Konohana all her life. Now that she is married to a successful farmer, she thought that she would live happily practicing her tailoring skills in Konohana forever. But as the farm capabilities start to reach it's limit, her husband Vale begins to plan a way to be even more successful. Tapping even greater potential in his farming career. But the only way he can do this is to move to the other town known as Bluebell.

Chapter 2: The Move

Vale talks to the Village mayor Ina about moving. The mayor is quite sad to hear that Vale is thinking about leaving Konohana. But as Vale explains his idea, Ina decides to support his idea and allow him to move. He pays his moving fee, and Ina goes off to Bluebell to inform it's mayor Rutger. 

Now that the move has been official, Vale now has to tell his wife about the move. He knows that the move might be hard on his wife, but he prays that he'll get her support.

"You want us to move?" asks Nori.

Vale nods and answers, "I think it's a good idea for the both of us. There's nothing else I can do in Konohana to make this farm more successful. But if we move to Bluebell, I can work here in Konohana like I always do, but I can also own lots of animals there too."

Nori sighs and says, "but I have never been to Bluebell before. The closest I have ever been is at the river, and I only went there as a child. Will I be able to get along at Bluebell."

Vale smiles at Nori and answers, "I'm sure that the village will accept you with open arms. And think about this, if I can build a maker shed, I can make yarn for you. That way, making clothes will be much easier for you. What do you say?"

Nori takes a moment to think about it. Having yarn would be convenient. And meeting new people would be exiting for her. But the whole idea may be overwhelming. She is not sure if she's ready for such a great change. But she remembers that she did marry him. And as his wife, she must support him in his decision. "All right, let's move to Bluebell. As long as I am with you, I don't care where we live."

Vale then grabs Nori's hands, and kiss them tenderly. "Thank you! I'll do my best to make you very happy in Bluebell. I promise."

"I love you Vale!"

"I love you too Nori!"

*Chapter 3 coming soon*

[Juxapose]

Chapter 3: Bluebell

On Spring 25, Nori and Vale unpack their things and got settled in their new home. It is a bit smaller than their Konohana home, but Vale promises to make this house bigger soon. Everything inside and out is different. From the look of the home. to the smell of the air outside. Even though Nori agreed to move with Vale, there is a lot to get used to.

That first night, Nori had a lot of trouble falling asleep. The town is a bit noisier than Konohana since several villagers nearby owns animals that makes racket at night. Vale has no trouble falling sleep since the sound of farm animals is something he is used to. 

The next day, Nori wakes up later than usual. She usually is awake at the crack of dawn, but that day Vale wakes up before her. Even after waking up, Nori is still a bit sleepy. Her long black hair is a mess as she tries to make some tea. But her sleepy eyes makes her clumsy, and she drops the tea on her yukata. She sighs sadly as she realizes how hard it is to start off in a new town. But for her husband's sake, she'll pull through.

Even though they live in Bluebell now, Vale still must still work in Konohana to tend the crops. He kisses his wife goodbye, and rides his horse through the tunnel back to Konohana. Now Nori has a new problem, she is not used to her husband working away from the farm. Now that Vale must work away from home, Nori feels alone.

Chapter 4 coming soon.

[Juxapose]

Chapter 4: Distance

It is now Spring 27. Vale has just rode off to work in Konohana, while Nori is left at home. As Nori sighs stressfully, she is happy about one thing, it's her birthday! And she plans to celebrate her birthday like she has been since she got married. She's gonna work all day preparing a great dinner for her and her husband.

Vale on the other hand has a problem. Today he finds that his enormous strawberry fields are ripe with fresh juicy strawberries. It's already past noon, and he'll need to spend all day and night to harvest all the strawberries. He figures that if he works quickly, he'll make it in time for Nori's birthday.

As Nori prepares the master feast, she recollects the moments she had with her husband. How he flirted with her, and told her how pretty she was in a kimono. He would give her flowers every time he goes into the mountain and makes a bouquet. Such a sweet husband she has found herself.

Vale finishes harvesting half the strawberries, and he sees that the sun has started to set. He wipes off the sweat from his forehead and decides to pick up the pace. He is working as hard and as fast as he can; but he is no superhero and his stamina is only limited. Even though he wants to work fast, he is tired and losing pace.

Night has arrived, and Nori is prepping herself up nice and pretty. She wears her best outfit and puts on light make-up for the dinner date. After she is done, she prepares the table complete with a huge meal for her working man, and candles for that romantic touch. She looks at the time, it is 8:00 pm, and she expects Vale to be home any minute.

But Vale is not ready to come home. At around midnight, Vale finally completes his job. The strawberries are shipped, and the crops are watered. He tries to rush home, but the tunnel is too dark to navigate through. With the miners leaving their junk ores on the ground, his horse might trip and get hurt. If he rides through the mountain, he'll definitely be there after 6:00am.

Instead, he checks into the Konohana Town Hall and sleeps the night away. The villages don't have phones, so there is no way that Vale could call his wife to say that he cannot make it. He knows his wife will be upset, but he did not know that work would take so long.

Around the same time, Nori looks at the time. It is past midnight, and she loses faith that her husband will come home tonight. She changes to her night gown, and cries herself to sleep. This is the first time that she has slept alone since she got married. And she never thought she would sleep alone ever again.

Chapter 5: Apology

In the morning, Vale rushes to the farm, and waters the crops one more time before heading home. He knows that he is in the dog house for missing Nori's birthday, but what's done is done. At least he knows for next time to leave the harvest for another day. Or at least harvest a portion, and save some work for the next day. Now that the farm has been worked on, he won't need to come back till tomorrow.

Before heading home, Vale picks up a gift for his wife. He then rides through the tunnel, and into his farm. After taking his horse to the barn, he slowly walks to his house and braces himself for the worst. He has never done anything to anger his wife, so he doesn't know what to expect.

"Hello?" he asks as he creeps into the house. His home is eerily quiet, and the only sounds he hears is the knife hitting the chopping board in the kitchen. Nori is preparing breakfast, but she left the food she poured her sweat blood and tears the night before on the table. Vale notices the cold stale food he failed to enjoy, and feels even worse about his mistake.

He creeps up to his wife who is busy in the kitchen. She knows he is there, but she doesn't have the heart to talk to him. At a safe distance, Vale says, "Um. . . Nori? I'm home! I brought you a birthday present! I know it's a day late, but I didn't forget. I was just real busy, you know how the harvest can take me all day. I-"

At this point, Nori drops her kitchen utensils and starts to cry uncontrollably. Every whimper and sob makes him feel more and more guilty about the day before. He rushes to her, and hugs her tightly. She is pounding her fist against his chest, but he won't let go. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I made a mistake! I know it was your birthday, and I know how much it means to you. I swear it won't happen again!"

"I missed you so much!" whimpered Nori. She sniffled, then looked up straight into her husband's eyes and continues, "I made so much food thinking about you. But when you didn't come home, I just didn't know what to think. Did you get hurt? Did you forget about me? Am I less important than the farm?"

Vale embraced his wife tightly and says, "Of course not! You are the most important thing in my life. I love you too much to ever put the farm before you. I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I'm just not used to living here, and working in two farms. I promise I'll manage my time better. I'll be home twice a day! Once at noon, and once at night. This will never happen again."

"Okay. . ." said Nori. But even so, she is still upset. Even though she is not exactly happy living in Bluebell, she believes in her husband. She believes in his promise to put her first. To make her the happiest woman alive. Everyone makes mistakes, but the important thing is to learn from them.

*Chapter 6 coming soon*

[Butterscotch]

I like the premise. I felt bad for Kana when I moved to Bluebell, but at least he had a job to go to. Poor Nori.

[Juxapose]

Chapter 6: Getting along

A few days later, Summer arrives. On the first day of Summer, Vale had Eileen remodel the house to add some extra convenient rooms. Both Vale and Nori were rather impressed at how fast she is able to finish the project. But they are both happy at the outcome; Nori has an extra room to work on her tailoring skills, and Vale has the bathroom to relax after a hard day's work in the farms.

But even though Nori is happy with her big home, she still feels lonely as her husband is away in Konohana to work. But at least he is making more of an effort to spend time with her. In the morning he spends time with his animals in Bluebell. He comes home, and goes on a date with his wife around noon. Then he runs off to Konohana to water the crops and do some Harvesting before coming home for the day.

As Vale works, Nori wants to get to know the people of Bluebell. So one day after Vale runs off to Konohana, Nori takes a walk around town. She is amazed at how little farming the town does. Bluebell has lots of animals like horses and cows. Near the stables, she finds two women around her age talking; Laney and Georgia. They remind her of the days when she used to talk like that with Reina from Konohana. Now that she is living in bluebell, she wants to make friends with them.

Even though she wants to try, she has one small problem. Bluebell is a ranching community. Laney and Georgia does allow Nori to join them, but she doesn't know a thing about animals. As Georgia goes on and on about horses, and Laney goes on and on about how cows and chickens make ingredients for her father's store, Nori feels a bit intimidated. Like a hen in a den of foxes.

She excuses herself, and goes back home where she is more comfortable. Even though she is now living with a new community, she feels more alone than ever. The town is more active than her tranquil home back in Konohana. There is a strong smell of animals and straw instead of the clean air and fresh smell of vegetation growing. She wonders can she get along with the people who live here?

*Chapter 7 coming soon*

[Butterscotch]

I feel bad for Nori.
I wish you'd gone into a little more detail. It would have been a lot more effective to show Laney and Georgia actually talking and seeing Nori try to follow along.

[Juxapose]

Apr 17, 2013 9:38:13 GMT -5 Butterscotch said:

I feel bad for Nori.
I wish you'd gone into a little more detail. It would have been a lot more effective to show Laney and Georgia actually talking and seeing Nori try to follow along.

Trust me, I wanted to. But I promised myself that I would keep this story as short and simple as possible. 

[Butterscotch]

Apr 17, 2013 13:42:09 GMT -5 Juxapose said:

Apr 17, 2013 9:38:13 GMT -5 Butterscotch said:

I feel bad for Nori.
I wish you'd gone into a little more detail. It would have been a lot more effective to show Laney and Georgia actually talking and seeing Nori try to follow along.

Trust me, I wanted to. But I promised myself that I would keep this story as short and simple as possible. 

Fair enough

[Juxapose]

Chapter 7: Advice

The next day, Nori decides to pay her husband a visit as he is working in the barn in bluebell. After what happened yesterday, Nori wants to know more about animals, and what better source than her husband. She creeps inside the barn to find his collection of cattle, sheep, and alpacas. Vale is tending to a sheep ready about to be sheered for wool.

Nori approaches her husband and asks, "umm, Vale? Can I ask for a favor?"

"Of course honey! What's on your mind?"

"Can you teach me a few things about animals? Maybe I can help you do some chores every now and then."

Vale raises an eyebrow and answers, "yeah, I don't mind. But why do you want to know about animals all of the sudden?"

Nori takes a deep sigh, and explains what happened the day before. How she tried to make friends with the villagers of Bluebell, but she didn't feel comfortable talking with them. The culture between Bluebell and Konohana is too different, and she wants to learn more about what they are interested.

Vale smiles knowing that his wife is willing to try to fit in. He kisses his wife on the forehead and says, "I'm glad that you are giving the village a chance, but I think you know more about animals than you think."


Nori tilts her head in confusion. Vale giggles and says, "remember, you love tailoring right? And where else does the material for your hobby comes from?"

Nori gasps in excitement. Just like Laney talks about the animals that give her milk and eggs for her cafe, and Georgia talks about the animals that her family works with, Nori can talk about her hobby and how sheep and alpacas contribute to that. 

Nori returns Vale's kiss and says, "Thank you sweet heart! I knew that I married the right person. I love you!"

Later that day, Vale rushes off to Konohana to do his work in the farm. Meanwhile, Nori decides to give socializing another chance. At least this time, she goes over with a hefty boost of confidence. And with the advice from her husband, she will surely make some great friends to keep her busy while her husband is away.

*Chapter 8 coming soon*

[Butterscotch]

Aw, that's cute

[Juxapose]

Chapter 8: New addition

One early summer morning, Vale wakes up at 6:00 am sharp. He then tries to wake up his wife, but all he gets is, "five more minutes." Since Nori works hard every day, he allows her to rest.

He goes off to work on the animals. His barn is now full at this point, so it takes him all morning to groom, feed, milk, sheer, collect, and treat the animals. He carries his goods over to his horse cart, and travels to the nearby shipping crate to sell his milk eggs and wool. 

It is about noon as soon as he is done working in his barn. Since it is Monday, Vale knows that Nori likes to spend about an hour with him. So he parks his cart next to his house, and walks into his home. But strangely, he still finds Nori in bed. 

Nori would normally have lunch ready for him, so it was very odd that she was still in bed. Worrying over his wife, he walks on over, and shakes her a little asking, "Nori, are you feeling okay?"

Nori wakes up and says, "I'm sorry sweety, but I don't feel good today. I've been feeling a bit dizzy, and I even threw up today."

"I see. Why don't you get dressed, I'm taking you to Konohana to see the doctor."

"Konohana? There's no doctor here in Bluebell?"

Vale laughs and says, "I don't get it either."

After Nori changes her kimono, Vale helps her get on his horse, and takes a quick ride over to Konohana to see the doctor. As soon as they get there, Nori begins to feel much more comfortable to be back in her hometown, even if it is for a visit. The clean summer air helps her with her nausea, and she might even spend an hour or two with her grandfather.

Doctor Ayame and Hiro run a few tests on Nori to determine what may be causing her illness. Nori and Vale waits patiently for the results. They hold hands, hoping that it's nothing serious. But they are comforted as soon as Ayame and Hiro come back wearing their best smiles.

"Well, the good news is that Nori is not sick," said Doctor Ayame. Nori and Vale sigh in relief. "Actually, allow me to extend my congratulations! Nori is pregnant!"

Nori and Vale gasp in excitement. They embrace one another stuttering in excitement. After a couple years of marriage, Nori and Vale are being blessed with a child to call their own. Ayame then tells them that Nori needs a special diet and care. But their excitement gets to them, and they barely listen. Ayame should insist they listen, but she figures that she'll let them celebrate. She'll mail them instructions later.

Nori then visits everyone in Konohana to share the news. She is so overcome with joy, that she no longer feels ill. Having a child of her own is something she has dreamed of ever since she said her vows with Vale. Nori's grandfather cries tears of joy, and prays to his deceased wife to tell her the news in heaven. Reina gets a bit jealous of Nori; being married and pregnant and all. Mayor Ina congratulates them on their pregnancy. Everyone else is very excited for them.

Sadly, Nori has to go home later that day to Bluebell. She was hoping that she would have her baby in Konohana, but she'll settle for the village of Bluebell. But as long as she is with her husband and her unborn child, she will be happy.

*Chapter 9 coming soon.*

[Juxapose]

Chapter 9: Marriage

Late one Summer day, Vale comes home to his loving wife. He has a lot of Watermelon plants growing in Bluebell, but since it's still early Summer, the vines have not produced fruit yet. They will very late, which allows him to come home earlier than normal most of the year. Now that his wife is expecting, he has a greater reason to come home early. He is even considering dropping his work load once summer is over.

As soon as he gets in, he is greeted by his loving wife with a banquet of food on the table just for them. Of course, he was expecting something like this, today is his third year anniversary being married to Nori.

"Welcome home dear!" greeted Nori.

Vale smiles and answers, "well, hello! How is the most beautiful woman I know doing?" He then kisses his wife, and prepares himself for the feast. After showering and changing his clothes, he joins his wife for dinner.

As they eat, they share stories about their marriage. Starting with the day that they got married. They retold each others their vows each of them wrote especially for the wedding. Touching words that were exchanged that came from deep in their hearts. Vowing everlasting friendship, love, compassion, and understanding.

They then move on to their married life. Nori may not work and devotes herself as a house wife, but she is happy that her husband lets her enjoy her hobby crafting and selling quality clothes to the villagers of Konohana. That hobby became a bit tougher once she moved to Bluebell, and everyone wears different type of clothing. But the abundance of wool allows her to perfect her craft. The move was hard on Nori, but she is happy to be with the man she loves.

Finally, Nori and Vale talk about the unborn baby. She is still early in her pregnancy, so they haven't decided on a name yet. They are more focused on how much change they will have to make once the baby is born. They want to raise it right with a lot of love and morals. Once the baby is born, the family will be complete.

*Chapter 10 coming soon*

[Juxapose]

Chapter 10: Pet

Summer is ending soon. Nori's baby is growing healthily inside her womb, and her "baby bump" is starting to show. Anticipation builds as the days pass, but the doctor tells her that the baby is due sometime in the beginning of Winter. Nori and her husband will have to wait a while longer before they can look into their child's eyes.

But even though the baby is nowhere near born, that doesn't stop Nori from showing off to her new friends. Laney and Georgia squeal with envy as they look into Nori's swelling belly.

"Oh my god,Oh my god,the baby is growing so fast! I want to have a baby too!" exclaims Laney.

"If you want a baby of your own, then why don't you get married? There are some single men in Konohana. Now that the tunnel is open, you should get to know someone," said Nori.

"As if!" complained Georgia. "Me and Laney are too busy helping our families with the shops to travel to Konohana. And neither of us are interested in any Bluebell men. You are so lucky to snag the only interesting guy in both Bluebell and Konohana."

Everybody then laughs and continue talking about the baby and the possibility of marriage for Laney and Georgia. Time flies, and Nori needs to return home to make her loving husband his meal before he comes home.

"Hello Nori!" yelled vale as he entered his home. Nori greeted her husband with a kiss, and Vale rubs the tummy of his dear wife. "How's my little mother to be today!"

"Things are great! I can't wait for our child to be born!"

Vale giggles and says, "Guess what? I have a gift for you!" He then leaves for a moment, then returns with a small brown puppy with a ribbon around it's neck.

"Oh my goodness, Vale! It's so cute!"

"I figured that our child needs a playmate, so I brought us a puppy. I know we have an owl, but I want our child to have his or her own pet. It's not going to grow very big, but it's easy to handle."

"What's it's name?" asked Nori.

Wale takes a moment to think, then says, "Why don't you name it?"

Nori thinks for a moment. Looking into it's cute blue eyes, she decides, "What about Aoi? I think it's a cute name."

"That is a cute name!" Vale then pets Aoi in the head and says, "Welcome to the family Aoi!"

*Chapter 11 coming soon*

[Butterscotch]

Cute chapter. But I thought Laney yelling seemed out of character. Maybe exclaimed would work better? It conveys the same excitement, but it doesn't as harsh.

[Juxapose]

Fixed.

To be honest, I never got to know Laney or Georgia at all, so I don't know what's in character or off.