Story of Seasons Fanfic - Fritz x Annie -

First Day of Work

 Today started as quickly as yesterday ended. Annie awoke to the smell of toast and eggs, and looked out the window to see the bright, vibrant colours of the sky at dawn. She stretched, yawned, and sat up to look at the cheerful room. All around her the walls were painted a deep yellow from the sunlight flooding through the window. Her clothes, a modest orange skirt, teal blouse and cream apron, lie folded on the chair next to her bed. She changed quickly and met Eda in the common room.

  "Good Morning, Dear. I didn't expect you up for a few hours yet, you coming from the big city and all. I've heard people sleep in until almost 10 o'clock there sometimes!" Eda laughed as she handed Annie her breakfast. She took it and rubbed her eyes slowly.

  "What time is it?"

  "It's 6 AM." Annie's jaw dropped. What kind of hell hole is this!?!  It's no wonder I'm so tired!!! Eda laughed at her reaction. "Don't worry, you'll adapt to this! Believe it or not, in a few weeks it will be hard to sleep in at all. It's all the fresh air and hard work, you sleep better."

  With that, Annie and Eda finished their breakfasts and began work on the farm. The first thing she learned about was caring for animals. Eda led her to a modest barn, inside of which were two cows and a single sheep. Eda rummaged through an old tool chest and pulled out a well used brush, then from a nearby shelf handed her an old milker.

  "These will be yours. They are old, but of good quality and you can upgrade them with some materials and blueprints in the future if need be." The tools were heavy, and just thinking about using them seemed exhausting, but when Annie looked into the soulful eyes of the cow, she decided she didn't mind that much. After all, it was only until she could fix them up.

  "This is my youngest cow, Hamako. She was bred from this cow here, Bessy." Eda motioned towards two cows. The first, Hamako, was big and healthy, with a milky white coat accented by spots that were as black as the night. She has deep, soulful brown eyes and when Annie looked into them, it felt as though she had known her for a long time. The second, Bessy, was slightly smaller, as she had begun to show her age, but still seemed cheerful and gentle. "I'll demonstrate how to brush and milk Bessy, then you can try on Hamako. You should also pet and talk to your cows every day. If they get sick, give them medicine, and never let her outside in the rain, it stresses them...." Eda's voice seemed to fade into the background as Annie stepped closer to Hamako and raised the old brush to her hide. Annie was nervous that she would do something wrong and hurt her, but she was so even-tempered that the whole learning process was a walk in the park. When Annie pet her, she had even begun to lick her face!

  Eda showed Annie how to feed the cows and clean the barn, and they ended the day by watering the crops. It was early afternoon when Annie finished her work for the day and put her tools away. It was then that she heard a faint voice in the distance:

  "Hey, Granny!!!"

  Annie, poked her head outside of the barn to see a young man with a mess of auburn hair tumbling about on his head as he ran towards Eda. He wore old, torn clothes and a red knitted scarf and socks. He was not very graceful, and as he approached, he fell flat on his face, and yet he still had the optimism to roll over and laugh at himself.

  "Fritz, dear! You ought to be more careful! Why, when you get to my age you'll regret acting with such recklessness. Just think of the havoc you are wreaking on your poor knees!" Fritz stood and scratched the back of his head.

  "Yeah, well... erm... I'll try to be more careful next time, granny."

  "It's good you're here now, I have to introduce you to someone." Eda gestured for Annie to come forward, who responded by timidly stepping forward. her porcelain skin was lit up by the sun and her long pink hair was secured in a loose, low ponytail, that hung about her waist. "This is Annie, the new farmer that Veronica told all of us about! Annie, this is Fritz. He is also a relatively new farmer here. Now I have a favor to ask the two of you: Annie is new here and doesn't know anybody yet, and since you two are both farmers and close in age I think it would do you well to be friends and help each other out!"

  "Is that all? That's fine with me! Annie, as of today we're best friends forever!" Annie was surprised by the child-like innocence and enthusiasm possessed by Fritz. Still, when he smiled at her, she couldn't help but notice the sparkle in his warm brown eyes. Now that he was closer she could see him much more clearly: he had pale skin with a few freckles, and bandages on his cheek, perhaps the result of a farming mishap. He was thin and had a boyish look about him, but his smile was so warm and genuine that it would melt the coldest of hearts.

  "Right!" She smiled back at him, raising her hand to her mouth to suppress a chuckle.

  "Could I borrow her for the rest of the day, granny? It might be fun to introduce her to a few people and show her where the other farmers live. Hey Annie, did you know you are the fifth farmer here already? Cool, huh?" He talked so quickly that it was hard to listen very closely!

  "Alright, dear, so long as you don't tire her out too much. I'll see you tonight! Annie, here is your day's pay. Why don't you and Fritz get something at the restaurant later?" Eda placed 500G in Annie's hand and waved as Fritz enthusiastically led her down the mountain.