Chapter One

Come morning, the village of Serene had just started to wake up. It was just one of those days when all villagers were out and about enjoying the sun. You could see a bright young lady, in her late teens, walking through the village with a grin on her face while carrying a grain-filled basket.

You could see her in a dark blue dress with a matching pair of slippers. Her brunette hair was laid over her right shoulder, bangs framing her face nicely.

She waved at a few villagers, and her blonde friend approached her, wearing a dark murky green dress with slippers of the same color. She looped an arm around her, mindful of her basket. "How are you doing on this fabulous day, Haley? It's got to be dreadful for you to smile this widely." Her friend smirked at her.

Haley James rolled her eyes at her wicked friend. "Oh, stop being Leah, can't I have a wonderful day when the sun shines?" She asked her. Leah rolled her blue eyes at her. "If you'd prefer to use the sun as your excuse, be my guess. If anything, I think you're in love." Leah sang to her in a teasing tone. She blushed in response.

She shoved the taller girl away, and they giggled. Leah walked next to her as they made their way to the bakery. "You have to admit, though, I noticed a certain Mr. Blake sending you these secretive looks," Leah said, nudging her.

Haley smiled in amusement and gave her friend a look. "Oh, as if I hadn't noticed you fawning over what's his name." She said, smirking when she made Leah Strange blush. "What, I can't help it when the residential bad boy graces you with his presence. Plus, his eyes are simply dreamy." Leah swooned over the thought.

She giggled at her childhood friend. "Well, maybe we should all do something together as a group, say a camping trip or something? We are surrounded by the forest." Haley suggested. Leah immediately brightens up. "Oh, that's a perfect idea, Haley. We can gather the courage and profess our undying love to our specific love interest, and we can finally begin the courting process by the two most dashing young men." Leah waved her hand at her face and sighed dramatically, making Haley giggle.

"That's a general idea, Leah, think we should go for it?" She asked her. Leah immediately nodded with a yes. "Okay, here's the plan..."

"That's a general idea, Leah, think we should go for it?" She asked her. Leah immediately nodded with a yes. "Okay, here's the plan. You ask Jake, and I'll ask Joshua, that way neither of them thinks we're asking them out on anything, and we're just out there to have fun. Sound good? Awesome." Leah said hurriedly before she took off, turning to wave back to Haley.

"Make sure to be ready bright and early on the morn!" She shouted to her.

Haley just nodded and waved back before making her way toward the bakery to get her chores finished for the day.

It was nighttime when she finally made it back home, and she walked into her small two-bedroom wooden cabin. Everything here had been carved out of wood before her father had passed on, leaving behind herself and her mum. She spotted her standing at the oven, making what smelt like potato soup.

Haley smiled at the thought, potato soup was her favorite. She dropped off her basket filled with freshly baked bread on the small wooden table and walked next to her mum and watched her finish the soup. In a way, she looked entirely just like her mum, only getting her calm attitude from her father.

Her mum had wild curly dark hair that went down to her waist and she was about an inch taller than she was, wearing a raggedy worn gray dress and brown boots. She looked up when she noticed her daughter and smiled.

"Hello, dear, how did the chores go?" She asked her. She beamed. "Well, we had plenty of grain to make enough bread to last us days mum, I was also able to procure some milk from little old May (the cow), today so we can make cheese at least." She said as she described her day.

Her mum patted her on the head. "That's wonderful, dear, God most certainly has graced us with his presence to give us this wonderful bounty and a hard-working girl." She praised her, making Haley blush a bit. "It was something we needed since we hadn't had any milk or cheese for a while, it goes perfectly with some eggs." She said, as she showed the full basket with a proud smile.

Her mum put the hot pot in the middle of the dining table with two bowls and spoons. "You've certainly kept yourself busy at least, that's good. I hate to see you alone so much." She said, as they made to eat the soup. Haley gulped it down a bit before she spoke. "That's the thing um, Leah wants to go camping in the forest for a few nights with a couple of friends, nothing too crazy of course, so I was hoping I could go?" She asked her as she was eating.

Her mum put the spoon down and looked at her. "What is the camping trip about?" She asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Well, both and I are hoping that one of the villagers would be interested in us enough to start courting now that we're of age, and we wanted to use this time on how we could get them to notice us without breaking any of the rules of courtship." Haley explained.

Her mum looked at her with narrowed eyes and hummed. "Well, if this means that much to you, and we'll be good on food to last us a while." She paused as she watched Haley look at her with hope in her eyes, and then she smiled. "Oh, alright then, my love. You can go, just make sure you bring everything you need to last a few days and wear your boots. Your slippers are not fit to hike." Her mum warned her.

Haley grinned brightly and walked up to her and wrapped her arms around her mum's shoulders. Her mum gently patted her on the head. "Thanks so much, mum. I can't believe you're actually letting me go." Haley grinned widely. Her mum just chuckled at her in amusement. "I'm sure, you'll just have to tell me all the details once you get back. In which case, do you know how long you'll be gone?" She asked her.

Haley thought for a moment before shrugging and getting back to her soup. "I believe a couple of days at most I suspect, so not too long at least." She answered her and her mum nodded. "Alright, let's eat dinner, and you can go ahead and pack what you need and get a good night's sleep." Her mum said.

Haley nodded in agreement. "Will do mum, and thanks again. This trip will mean a lot to me and Leah." She said while chewing on some potatoes.