He had never thought that girls could actually be pretty interesting. But now he found himself being quite attracted to one girl in particular.

Mary Lewis. There was just something in the way she glanced at him, the way the point of her nose turned up, the way she so elegantly moved. She was just a little girl, just like he was just a little boy, but nevertheless she had awakened in him the desire to protect her, shield her. He wanted nothing but to pull her close, and yet he was frightened by this strange new desire.

Luc had madly fallen in love.

Mary didn’t think so highly of herself. As the only child and daughter of the irritable pastor, she had often seen his outbursts of anger. She had fallen victim to it once, when she was very young. She couldn’t recall what it had been about, but she now guessed it had something to to with her being a girl, instead of a boy.

Luckily it didn’t come to another argument after that one. Her mother restored the peace and guarded it like an angel. And she knew her father loved her anyway. He had his weak moments, but in the end she knew he only wanted the best for his family.

At the wedding of her friend Robyn, Mary had seen Luc. He was about as old as she, so it didn’t surprise her that he had grown since she had last seen him. But it struck her that he had grown so handsome.

She found herself blushing when he looked at her. He no longer was the little boy she knew and had even played with sometimes, but he had developed a hint of the attitude his father had always had. An air of doing what he pleased, even if the authorities didn’t like it.

When Luc had ventured into the woods one day and did not return, Mary was worried. She had found herself being quite attracted to the unusual boy. Now that he wasn’t around, she realized how much she had grown to care about him. She missed him.

Ofcourse she did know it could never happen - the two of them together - for he was the son of the banned man. Her father would never allow, let alone agree with such a thing. She also thought Luc would never like a bouncy little girl like her. But that didn’t stop her from dreaming.

Luc did not return after a few days and Mary was worrying herself sick. His family was having sleepless nights, too. But Mary was far more sorry for herself, as they had at least been able to tell Luc they loved him. If he was never to come back - Mary shuddered at the thought - he would never know about her.

Mary liked to think of herself as brave. Trouble was, she wasn’t, really. She liked braiding her hair and having nice dresses and drawing imaginary signs in the sand, and she didn’t think those were the kind of things a brave girl would do. A brave girl would at least have the courage to ask a boy on a dance. A brave girl would at least tell a boy if she fancied him.

Mary daren’t.

She did have her little adventures, like when a sheep had fallen into the moat. She had had the presence of mind to pull the sheep out, and afterwards she felt brave. She liked that feeling. And right now, she felt like she had the opportunity to be brave once again. It would be very different from rescuing a cat from the roof, ofcourse. But she liked to think herself brave and this was an opportunity a brave girl wouldn’t let go!

So, once Mary had swallowed several times and inhaled deeply, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands. She would go after Luc to try and find him.

Mary told her parents she was going for a walk, which was a part of the truth, she thought. She would never really lie to them.

At first the woods seemed light and airy, but it quickly got denser. And although Mary tried to remember the way she had come, every tree looked like all the others. There was no real path, except for a deer track that was hard to follow because it disappeared every now and then. But it was the only thing that appeared to make sense to Mary and she tried to follow it, which was the best thing she could have done.

Mary called out to Luc many times, but when she got no response at all, she realized how enormous these woods really were. Would she ever be able to find him? And if she could, how would they ever find their way back?

When Mary stopped to rest and looked around, an unfamiliar, horrible feeling came over her. She had no idea where she was.

On a day like this, Luc had set out into the woods. He was determined to find what he was looking for: the secret beehives of his father.

Because of this he had brought someone with him, for he knew he could never find it by himself. Benjamin Miller, who knew these woods better than anyone (except perhaps the deer), was sure to know where to look.

They quickly left the village behind them and when they had been walking among the trees for a while already, Benjamin asked:’How would you know there are beehives in these woods when you’ve never even been there?’

‘Someone told me about it,’ Luc muttered. ‘Look, can you teach me the way to the beehives?’

‘Sure.’ Benjamin said, but eyed him curiously.

They followed the tracks of deer, who had made a little path because of all the times they had walked there. Sometimes they would come across a special tree, and then Benjamin would turn left or right. It were signs that told him where to go.

After they had walked another mile or so and had even come across a pond (Luc didn’t know any lakes other than the water between the hills, so he was very surprised), Luc noticed some activity. All around them there as a faint buzzing sound.

‘Why, I believe we’re there!’ Benjamin said happily. ‘Is this what you’re looking for?’

‘I think so,’ Luc said. The sight of all those bees made him feel a little uneasy.

Benjamin was either not the tiniest bit afraid, or hid it very well, because he walked to the hives without cringing and inspected them. He whistled softly between his teeth. ‘Looking quite messy, hmm, usually, it’s spic and span. Why did you want to see them, Luc?’

‘I.. I wanted to know if they were real.’

Benjamin burst out laughing and Luc felt very embarrassed. ‘As real as you and me, lad! My, why would you ever think the beehives in the woods were not real? They’ve always been here.’

‘About the way to the beehives, can you give it to me one more time, mister Miller, please?’ Luc said, quickly changing the subject.

Benjamin eyed him curiously, again.

‘So I know how to get here again if someone doesn’t believe me,’ he explained.

‘Sure, lad..’ Benjamin said insecurely. ‘Well, look, you know where to start, right? After the last field of sheep, you enter the woods. You go South for a while, cross a field, and back into the woods. And you keep the hills on your right.

Then, when you get at that little pond (remember? It isn’t more than a puddle, really,) you walk around the lake and turn left at that tree I showed you. Now you’ve got the hills at your back.

Well after that, you walk about a quarter of a mile Eastwards until you get at the fallen trunk, then you leave the deer trail and enter the grove, you cross the little heather clearing and there you are.’

Luc nodded slowly, trying to remember everything.

‘It’s not that hard, really. If you follow the deer track most of the time, you’re okay. You’ll remember the signs when you see them.’

Benjamin looked around and rubbed gleefully in his hands. ‘Unless you want to unravel some other secrets, I think we should better go. It’s almost time for dinner.
I say, Luc, lead the way!’

This is the living room of the Green family. They have a cat called Timber, but they recently found an orphaned kitten and adopted the poor little thing.

Mr. Green owns a grocery store, it’s in the process of setting up but I’m not entirely sure how to arrange him to get all the produce from the farms. The farmers have to make money too, somehow, and they should get paid for their produce.

But how many should they produce? How many fields should they have, to provide for the entire community? How do I distribute it evenly, so every family can have dinner every day?
Currently the Chandler family is one of the poorest, because Dorus is gone and no-one is making money at all. This would be logical. But if Frank moves in, he is going to earn something to provide for the family. That was the point. But how? I was thinking they would become farmers, because I want more than one farmer family and Frank is bringing the knowledge. But they could also sell candles to all the villagers, using the beeswax Luc is looking for in the woods.

Maria Green holding the new kitten in front of their house. They called her Bea. She’s a cute thing.

Robert Reese stopped by. He is settling in nicely. I found his glassless windows again, thanks to Ingeli :), so his house isn’t missing anything either.

As he is very experienced with shopkeeping (his parents in Windle owned Reese Grocery Store :)), I think he will employ at the Greenery. He will like working at a grocery store again.

I also visited the Weaver family, where Anne and her children live, including Louis. The apples are looking quite well, even if it just Midsummer! I found some really lovely apple trees that have a shape that’s much more real. Only thing is that they wear apples all the time. But they look great among the apple trees of the game.

Awww, isn’t he precious? This is Nick Taylor, the sweetheart of Jasmine Weaver. Jasmine has not been interested in boys earlier(unlike her twin sister), she liked it better to paint. But now this boy came along and stole her heart. They’ve courted for a while now and are going to marry in the middle of Summer.

Here we have got Katherine Meadowsweet. They upgraded their stove, walls and windows recently. I really like those windows, as they are glassless. Glass was ridiculously expensive. I wouldn’t mind having glass in my Sims’ windows, but this a lovely one too.

I see her husband, Sander, has caught fresh bass. It looks delicious on that plate.

Also at the Meadowsweet house, in the flower shop. Left to right:
1. Adam Meadowsweet, being cashier. He’s better at selling stuff, so the customers aren’t really happy with his clumsiness!
2. Jozias Green, owner of the Greenery. He bought some roses if I recall correctly.
3. Benjamin Miller. He runs the mill, is a ranger in his spare time and knows the forest like the back of his hand. His family also breeds dogs.
4. Mary-Ann Thatcher, wife to Eck Thatcher, who is a peasant with no real job.. They fish a lot, Mary-Ann has some crops to tend, and right now Eck is employed at the Taylor Shopp (Anne Weaver’s clothing store). She is a really sweet, shy woman, birthed a son and two daughters, has also had a miscarriage, but finds the strength to go on in her plants.

This is Mary Lewis’ bedroom, in the back of the wooden building behind the Chapel. From that window, she can look out over the water between the hills in Winter. When the trees bear leaves, they almost grow into her room.
It is a very tiny and dark house, but Mary wanted light wallpaper. It does look like bigger this way.

Just one floor down, her parents sleep. Sophia has a hard time not to be waken up by the earliest bells in the morning, which her husband has to ring. She can snuggle into the blankets for a little while before she also has to get up, but those bells are so loud!

They only have one child, their daughter Mary. There is no-one to hand the task of pastor to. If Jon dies (which, ofcourse, he will eventually do) Tinn will have no priest at all. That is why they are debating on taking an apprentice, for they are too old to have another child.

That apprentice could ring those bells, too, so Sophia can snuggle into the arms of her husband!

I found most of my cc back. Only thing I’m missing right now is the sack of potatoes you can see in the header. I think it was included in some set at Around the Sims 2 or something like it. Does anyone have a clue where to find it? I liked it. :) I’ll bake you a nice cake!