Sunshine and Shadow Acres [A Stardew Valley Fanfiction]

Chapter 12: Mines

              Sam was a new regular on the farm alongside Abigail. Sebastian showed up sometimes to snuggle Oreo, and I'd been slowly chipping away at the wall that stood between us. It was hard between him working and my work to get time to spend together but we were trying.

I didn't run into Shane often, and when I did, he'd often hightail it away from me. I had met his goddaughter, Jas. She was the sweetest little thing and I made it a point to try to visit her and Vincent in the library and spend some time reading with them every now and then.

Overall, the rest of my spring was incredibly busy. Abigail and I hadn't dared to properly poke our heads into the mines yet. But today was a rainy day, and we decided to give it a go. Why not? I'd already set up smelters for ore I happened to find outside of the mines, the next logical step was to go mining. I made sure Abigail was as safe as she possibly could be before we headed out. She fussed the entire time, but I reminded her that I didn't want to face her parents.

"It's dark down here," Abigail muttered as we climbed down a level into the mines.

"Here," I offered her a lantern. She took it gratefully and thrust it out into the open space before us. Nothing seemed to be moving, but I did happen to see the glitter of something in the corner.

"Look!" I pointed and started to move towards it. I wanted to run over, but I kept it smart – slow and methodical. Sure enough, there was brown ore throughout a few rocks that I identified to be copper. I started to hit it with my pickaxe while telling Abby to keep an eye out. The mining trip went relatively uneventful, although we did run into a couple of slimes and bugs. They didn't take much work with the two of us, though, and we managed to take care of anything that came our way with ease.

"Floor thirteen, huh?" Abby grinned as she made another mark on the wall for where we were. We even found the occasional iron ore which was extremely lucky.

"I think maybe Maru can help us figure out how to craft these into sprinklers. They'll be basic, but it'll be something!" Abigail said and I momentarily stilled. Maru. I hadn't actually met her yet. And Sebastian hadn't mentioned her.

"What's she like?" I questioned curiously as I swung at another ore deposit.

"She's... smart. Insanely smart. She and Demetrius have a lab in the house, in what used to be the old living room."

"They... don't have a living room?" I furrowed my brow.

"The lab must've been built soon after you left, honestly. It's been there for so long," Abby shrugged.

"And Sebastian?" I asked but she turned to me confused. "Him and Maru?" I supplied further context. Abigail frowned softly.

"It's... complicated. He cares about her, of course. But... he was certainly pushed to the edge of the family view. Demitrius is obsessed with presenting as the perfect family, though, so he tries hard to make it seem like they didn't take a wrecking ball to the life Seb knew." I frowned and sighed.

"He lives in the basement, now," she added causing me to snap my gaze up to hers.

"The basement?!"

"He and Maru shared a bedroom as kids, but when he got older, he ended up moving to the basement. It's big, at least. And gives him an escape," she shrugged.

"Poor Seb," I muttered more to myself as Ab and I finished up and headed home for the day.