Once upon a time, there lived a young girl by the name of Lucy whose dear mother passed away. She stayed with her cold father, who basically provided with all her needs. As she tended to a cow (owned by her father, of course), people called her Cowgirl Lucy or simply, Cowherd.
One day, Lucy was called to her father's room. Whispers were exchanged as she walked down the hallway toward her so-called dad, head held high. She learned that her father wanted to marry her off to a random man she did not know of, and had actually consulted a matchmaker for it. Outraged, she proceeded to run away, along with the cow and the bullock cart, in the middle of the night. And so she did.
"With you by my side, it doesn't matter to me whether I stay or leave," were her last words to the cow, as they began their journey away from the place that nursed her to adulthood, but with no loving care whatsoever.
As a result, Lucy had cleared up a piece of land with the help of her trusty cow and farmed it, later which she built a small thatched cottage by the edge of a river, near the mountain ranges. This had taken months of sweat and blood, and for that she was grateful.
Another day, while the cowherd was resting her head on a nearby stone after a day full of heavy work, she heard a distinct, throaty voice call out her name. "Lucy!" Fluttering open one brown eye, she saw that the cow was gazing over her.
"It's actually me talking." The scruffy, disheveled, yet slightly-pretty-in-her-current-state— blonde hair covering her once-porcelain face—cowherd squeaked when she saw who was speaking.
"I'm actually the Golden Bull Star in the Sky, Taurus. I was banished to earth for violating some rules." His eyes immediately turned into those of heart-shapes. "Although I have to say, Lucy-san, that body of yours totally rocks!"
Lucy's eyes narrowed, instinctively she covered her chest. "Okay, Taurus, so... what's up?"
"If I were a mortal, I would marry you myself," remarked Taurus, which earned a slight pout from the cowgirl. "But I'm here to tell you that it's time for you to seek a husband. I mean, all you ever care about is work, work, work! Have you ever stopped to wonder about the possibilities of having another pair of hands getting dirty because of you? You're not the type to want anyone to be doing anything for you, of course, and you want to be an independent woman, but that beautiful body of yours would go to waste if you don't marry! Look, I have a plan which I have foretold... listen here. Tomorrow, you..."
The next day, Lucy found herself huffing and puffing down the last mountain toward the lush forest. She remembered Taurus' words to her: "At the side of the forest is a lake... there will be people bathing in it."
Lucy blushed at the thought. Surely they would be men, but she did not wish to see anyone at the moment. But then again, she was already 18; it was the regular age to get married anyway. But how could she marry anyone without consulting their parents first? She herself did not have any parents, what image would it cast to her significant other's guardians?
Yet, she trusted Taurus fully, even if he did make perverted jokes about her figure. He'd stayed by her side for years, never letting go, and to repay him she would do just as he said. So, steadying her breaths as she approached the lake and hid behind a bush.
