(This is Laurel’s side of the story while Arron and Franklin are doing their thing)

  Laurel smirks and shakes her head. "I don't think I'd go that far," she then dashes off to her mom before Franklin retorts. Laurel grabs her food and sits with her mom. As she eats, she leans on Mellisa while zoning out. As she lazily eats, her vision slowly settles on the hill.

  There Laurel’s vision blurs, and it overlaps with her dream. There, a flag stands proudly against the blue sky. She gets a tranquil feeling, and Laurel can’t help but begin to fall back to sleep.

  Mellisa gently shakes her daughter. “Come on, now finish your food. Don’t go back to sleep!”

  Laurel jolts awake and shakes away her sleepy eyes. “Thanks, mom.” She continues eating, but her mind can’t quite settle back into reality. Laurel keeps hearing the screams of battle that eventually ended that place in her dreams. The despair when the flag fell and the slaughter afterward makes Laurel shiver.

  Mellisa wraps her arm around her daughter in worry. “Are you cold? It’s started warming up, but it’s not summer yet, so be careful!”

  “Alright,” Laurel replies while enjoying the heat from her mom. Then Laurel overhears Arron, “After you’re done with your morning training, I’ll go with you into the forest to find a good straight tree.”

  Then Franklin’s enthusiastic response makes Laurel feel like she lost for some reason. ‘Just because I didn’t help you out right away, you go to someone else.’ “Hmph!”

  “What is it now?” Mellisa questions.

  “It’s nothing, mom. I just thought of something I need to do. I’ll talk to you later!” Laurel explains as she runs off, leaving her mostly finished bowl behind.

  “That girl. She should at least help us clean up. When will she grow up?” Mellisa sighs.

  Laurel runs towards her house, but once she’s out of sight, she turns towards the field where Arron works. All the men used to work the fields but now that Gregory has traps again and Wilbur has his forge, the work is now left to Arron. Of course, everyone helps when the work get’s rough.

  Laurel pops out from behind a house as Arron comes around the corner. “Hey, I need to talk to you about something,” Laurel says quietly.

  “What’s wrong?” Arron asks with a worried expression. ‘I’m not the right person for girl issues,’ he worries.

  “It’s about Franklin…”

  Arron frowns deeper. “I don’t understand. What about Franklin?”

  Laurel looks at the ground, then the sky looking conflicted. “It’s a secret, alright you can’t tell him I told you!”

  “Alright, but if it’s something dangerous, I’ll have to do what is necessary!” Arron says with determination.

  “It’s nothing like that!” Laurel exclaims while shaking her head, sending her black hair flopping about chaotically. “It’s just he’s been bugging to put my flag up on the hill ever since we got it. But I was worried we’d just mess it up. I heard what you were talking about, and I just wanted to make sure that you understood what you are getting into.”

  Arron nods, “It’ll be tough, but I think we should be able to get a good pole for our village flag. You kids should have asked for our help instead of becoming depressed.”

  Laurel thinks for a moment while looking at the ground. “oh!” she looks up at Arron and blushes, “Well, he said he wanted to do it himself to impress me. It’s a bit embarrassing.”

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  Arron nods with a tense face. “It’s important that I don’t step over him, but we can’t do it without the other's help. I’ll keep it a secret until it’s necessary. I hope you’ll praise him even though he needed help.”

  “Of course, I will!” Laurel promises while trying to look angelic.

  “Alright, I have work to do, and so do you,” Arron says, ending the conversation.

  Laurel clenches her fist in success as she walks away, only for a little goblin to appear in her path. “You’re being naughty!” the cute little goblin says while pointing at Laurel.

  “I’m not being naughty,” Laurel replies with a snort.

  Donna, unconvinced, shakes her head, “I can tell you’re being naughty. When you act nice, you are actually being naughty. I figured it out all by myself.”

  “It’s a prank, so it’s funny. Funny things aren’t bad,” Laurel counters with her grown-up intellect.

  Donna nods at this logic. “If it’s funny, it’s ok. But I want to have fun too! You can’t hog the fun,” Donna pouts while folding her arms over her chest.

  “Alright, but you can’t go blabbing to the adults, alright? Only do what I say.”

  “I understand. I know blab!” Donna responds while hopping in place in excitement.

  After this, Laurel and Donna go around getting the relevant adults on their side. However, she’s left the most challenging obstacle for last. Right before they will drag the tree back, Laurel and Donna climb the hill to fight the final boss.

  “The two trouble makers have arrived,” John says as they reach the hilltop.

  Donna puffs her cheeks out and explains, “we, not trouble makers! We doing a prank? It’s funny!” Donna looks over at Laurel for confirmation.

  “That’s right, don’t get your branches tangled up about every little thing,” Laurel follows up.

  “Bushy, be careful!” Donna says worriedly.

  “Anyways, we’re here to get permission to put the flag pole on your hill. Guardian spirit John, what do you say?”

  “Permission!”

  “Mooha,” Joe nods behind Donna.

  “Why are you joining in too?” John complains to his hill mate. “If I had a problem with your plan, I would have stopped you before this. But I think Franklin will be quite upset.”

  “it’s funny,” Donna once again explains.

  “Well, this is something you’ll need to learn,” John says while waving his branch.

  Laurel bows to the bush and bull and says, “thanks for your support. But I’m not worried if Franklin is sad!” She then turns away as she sees the boy and man carrying a stripped tree to the village. “Come on, Donna, let’s go inspect their work.”

  “Ok!” Donna says while jogging after Laurel.

  Later that evening, Laurel encounters a hidden boss. Anna catches her on the way home and calls out to her, “I hear you’ve been running all over the place.”

  “I’m quite the socialite,” Laurel says while trying to put up a strong front.

  Laurel places her hand on the girl's shoulder, “I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, but this village is too small for you to pull anything off secretly. I know you’re trying to get a pole for your flag instead of a banner for my son to hold.”

  Laurel averts her eyes, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

   “Ok, it’s a good lesson for everyone anyways. But it would be best if you didn’t go too far with your pranks.”

  “You aren’t going to stop me?” Laurel asks in confusion.

  “I’ll take care of my son’s banner. What a stupid farce over a little stick. Your mom will worry hurry home,” Anna concludes while waving Laurel off.

  With that done, everything goes as planned, and Laurel helps raise the flag with her own hands. She feels a flood of emotions when she sees the flag flying high. They are strange and vague. Not entirely her own but also close to her heart. She puts on a happy smile during the celebration but later, she sits at the bottom of the hill and lets her tears fall.

  Then a consoling voice floats into Laurel’s head, “Even though we can’t understand what you’re going through, you can rely on us. This isn’t like some cutthroat sect where you must guard yourself against those around you.”

  “Not even I understand what I’m feeling, so how can I confide in others? Will it truly do me any good?” Laurel questions while clutching her knees to her chest.

  “If it bothers you, then come confide in this stupid bull. He doesn’t understand half of what’s going on as it is. And he can’t talk back.”

  Laurel looks at Joe in confusion, “But don’t you talk to him all the time?”

  “That’s because our manly hearts connect, but you won’t have that problem!”

  Laurel can’t help but giggle at the two manly men on the hill. “Alright, I understand.”

  “If you look for sadness, there will be no end. You must strive to find the good instead. Well, that’s just something I wish I could have told myself in my previous life. Perhaps things would have been different…. But I’m here now, and I don’t regret my end or hate my position.”

  “That seems too advanced for me. But I will do my best,” Laurel says before bowing towards the hill and going home.