Work Text:
It was a peaceful day in Smiling valley, and all 7 of the critter kids were hanging out in stardew park, as they usually did on days like this.
Paulie and Casey were skipping stones on the lake, Pepper and Cady were drawing together, Bella and Berry were sitting on a log, watching clouds, and Lunette was picking flowers.
But unknown to them, they were being watched by an evil being.
Or at least, she was pretending to be evil.
She was the evil queen Ulrike’s young daughter, Princess Evelyn.
~7 or so years ago~
It was a dark, stormy night on top of Mount Vitriol, and the evil sorceress Ulrike was experimenting with evil magic.
She was trying to bring life to a perfect minion, that would follow her every order and serve with every whim.
Not that Poe and Babs weren’t doing a great job, but she knew she’d need a more competent henchman if she wanted to get her hands on the smiling critter’s pendants.
So she was following the evil spell exactly, adding the components as needed, measured right down to the wire.
But unbeknownst to her, she had accidentally mixed some of her own DNA into the formula.
While she was brushing her hair earlier, she didn’t notice a few strands of it had accidentally fallen into the cauldron, mixing with the spell ingredients.
When it came time to add the last ingredient, Ulrike also casted one of her magic spells upon the cauldron beforehand.
“Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, bring new life to my double!”
She says as her hands glow green.
“I shall bring my enemies to rubble!”
She casts the spell on the cauldron, shooting green magic into the cauldron, causing a huge green explosion.
Fanning away the smoke, Ulrike steps closer to the cauldron, gazing upon her new creation.
It was a baby girl, who looked just like her when she was a child.
The girl looked up at her.
“Mama…?”
She says, smiling ear to ear.
And that was the moment Ulrike’s whole life changed.
~Present day~
Evelyn was searching around, looking for the supposed ‘Magic necklaces’ her mother told her to look for.
But she was really close to giving up.
She didn’t know where they were, what they looked like, or even which critter was wearing which necklace.
All she knew was that there were eight of them, and that eight critters wore them.
But she didn’t even know where to start…
She sits down, sadly.
“Mama’s gonna be so upset…”
She says, starting to cry.
She runs away, not wanting to get caught.
~Meanwhile~
Lunette was taking a walk near the gemberry woods, wandering near them despite the fact his parents told him time and time again not to, while holding a small bouquet of pretty lavender colored lilies he had picked, planning on giving them to Berry.
Suddenly, his ears perked up.
He heard someone crying.
Curious, he followed the sound of the crying, wandering through the woods until he came to a small clearing.
And then… he saw her.
There was a beautiful girl, with emerald green skin and raven black hair, kneeling on the ground and weeping into her hands.
He blushes a bit, slowly approaching her.
“Excuse me, miss…?”
He asks.
Eve jumps, looking up at him.
Lune looks worried.
“Are you okay…?”
Eve backs away.
“O-oh yeah I'm fine!”
She says, smiling as best she could.
Lune steps closer.
“But why are you crying?”
Eve looks at him for a second, then sighs sadly, burying her face in her hands.
“Well, I needed to get something important for my mom, but I couldn't find it…”
She says. “And she’s gonna be mad at me…”
Lune sits next to her.
“Hey… don’t be sad.”
He says, gently rubbing her back. “My parents get mad at me sometimes, but they get over it…”
Eve remained unresponsive.
Lune thinks for a moment about how to cheer her up.
Then, he gets an idea, smiling.
“Hey, I have something for you!”
Eve glances at him. “W-what is it…?”
Lune offers her the flowers he had picked.
“These flowers are just as pretty as you are!”
He says with a smile.
Eve blushes a little, gently taking it.
“T-thank you…”
Lune nods. “You’re welcome!”
Eve puts one of the flowers behind her ear.
“So… what’s your name?”
She asks.
Lune’s tail flicks.
“I’m Lunette, but most people call me Lune, or Lulu!”
He says. “What’s yours?”
Eve smiles. “I’m Evelyn, but I go by Eve.”
Lune smiles. “That’s a pretty name!”
Eve blushes more. “T-thanks…”
Lune thinks of another idea.
“Hey, my house isn’t far, do you wanna come over and play?”
Eve smiles a bit. “S-sure…”
She says, hoping it’d get her mind off her failed mission.
Lune’s tail flicks again, offering her a hand.
“Yay!” he says. “C’mon, let’s go!”
Eve smiles, taking it, and letting him lead her away.
~Flowery transition~
Lune arrived at his dads house, pressing the doorbell and climbing up the rope ladder, followed by eve.
When he knocks on the door, his sunny dad opens it, smiling.
“Hey little moonbeam!”
He says. “Back already?”
Lune nodded. “Yeah, and guess what?”
Dogday giggles. “What?”
“I made a new friend!”
He says, gesturing to Eve, who walks over.
Dogday’s smile fades a bit when he sees her.
She looked a bit suspicious…
“O-oh, hello there young lady.”
He says, trying to be polite. “What’s your name?”
Eve smiles and curtsies.
“Evelyn, but you can call me Eve.”
She says politely.
Dogday nods. “Lovely.”
He says.
“Uh… why don’t you two come in?”
He says, stepping aside. “My husband is making salmon maki for lunch.”
Lune’s eyes sparkle. “Oooh, my favorite!”
He gently takes Eve’s hand, making her blush as he leads her in.
Meanwhile, Catnap was in the kitchen, slicing up the salmon for the sushi roll.
“Hey sweetie.”
Dogday says, walking in.
Catnap smiles, glancing up at him.
“Hey dewdrop.” He whispers. “Is Lune back yet?”
Dogday nods.
“Yes, and he’s made an… interesting new friend.”
Catnap tilts his head.
“Interesting?”
Dogday nods, turning to the door.
“Hey kids, come here.”
Lune walks into the kitchen, followed by Eve.
When Catnap sees the young girl, he accidentally cuts his finger with the knife.
“ACH!”
He says, cradling his hand.
Everyone gasps, surrounding him.
“Oh no, babe are you okay?!”
Dogday says, gently putting a hand on his beloved’s shoulder.
Catnap shakily nods, quickly getting a paper towel and holding it against the wound.
“I-I'm fine…”
Dogday nods, then looks to Lune and Eve.
“Why don’t you kids go play in the living room while I patch your papa up?”
Lune nods. “Ok.. if you say so”
He says, going to the living room while Eve follows.
While Dogday was cleaning and bandaging Catnap’s cut, he leaned forward to whisper in his ear.
“Is it just me, or does this girl look like Ulrike…?”
He says.
Catnap nods.
‘She does…’ he signs.
‘Do you think… they’re related…?’
Dogday quietly humphs.
“Well if she is, we’ll need to keep a close eye on her…”
Catnap nods.
After Catnap was patched up, they all had lunch.
“So, Eve.”
Dogday says, getting the girl’s attention.
“What do you like to do for fun?”
Eve thinks for a bit.
“Well, I love to draw, sing and dance!”
She says. “And pick flowers, and make them into chains to give to my mother.”
Dogday nods.
“Your mother, huh?”
He says, a bit suspicious.
Eve gets nervous.
“Y-yeah!”
Lune smiles. “Hey, so do I!”
He says. “I love making lavender and sunflower crowns to give to my daddies!”
Eve smiles. “Aww, that’s sweet.”
Catnap then taps her on the shoulder, to get her attention.
‘Do you know asl?’
He signs to her.
Eve looks confused for a second, then smiles and nods.
‘Yes.’
She signs back. ‘My mother makes me study it for ‘diplomatic relations-’ whatever that means.’
Catnap was equally relieved and terrified by her answer.
‘Lovely.’
He signs.
By this point, everyone had finished their food, when Dogday got an idea.
“Hey, why don’t you kids go play?”
He says. “We need to discuss something.”
“Okay!”
Lune says, getting up with Eve and going to play in the living room.
Once they were alone, Dogday scoots closer.
“I think there’s a way we can find out if she’s working for Ulrike or not.”
He whispers into Catnap’s ear.
Catnap tilts his head.
“What is it?”
Dogday gives him a clever smirk.
“We’ll leave our pendants on the table, and see if she tries to steal them.”
He says. “If she does, then she’s DEFINITELY working for and/or related to Ulrike, and if she doesn’t, then it’s probably just a crazy coincidence.”
Catnap looks worried.
“B-but what if she does steal them?”
Dogday smiles.
“Well then, we’ll just apprehend her before she leaves.”
He says. “And afterwards, we’ll have to keep a better eye on Lune, to make sure he doesn’t make friends with anyone else suspicious.”
Catnap nods. “Okay, that makes sense.”
He takes his pendant off, followed by Dogday, then they leave them both on the kitchen table, completely unattended.
“Okay, now, let’s go spy on them from the doorway.”
He whispers, tip-toeing out and being followed by Catnap, who was naturally quiet.
Meanwhile, Eve and Lune were in the living room, playing with some toy blocks.
After a while, Eve gets thirsty, getting up.
“Do you guys have anything to drink?”
She asks.
Lune nods, getting up as well.
“Yeah!” He says, leading her into the kitchen.
“Do you want orange or grape juice?”
Eve smiles. “Grape please.”
Lune nods, getting the step ladder out, then climbing up to the cabinets to get some plastic cups.
While he was doing that, Eve noticed something on the dining table.
Her eyes sparkle.
Were they the ‘Magic necklaces’ that her mom was looking for?
She was tempted to try and steal them, like her mother told her to…
But she just couldn’t bring herself to.
Lune’s parents were so nice, and she really liked Lune, and wanted to see him again.
So she left them on the table, not even touching them.
When Lune hands her the cup of juice, she thanks him as they both walk back into the living room.
And Catnap and Dogday walked back in, shocked.
“Huh…”
Dogday says. “I was SURE she was gonna try and take them…”
He says, picking his pendant up.
Catnap smiles.
‘Guess her looking like Ulrike is just a coincidence, huh?’
He says, picking him up as well.
Dogday nods.
“What a relief.”
He says, putting it back on. “Lune just made a normal friend.”
Catnap nods, putting his on. ‘He certainly did.’
After they had their pendants back on, they walked back into the living room to play with the kids.
~A few hours later~
After everyone had a delicious dinner of rice stew, Eve noticed that the sun started to go down.
She sighs sadly, getting up.
“I should be getting home…”
She says.
Lune looks sad. “What? Why?”
Eve looks at him.
“I gotta be home before dark…” She says. “That’s my bedtime.”
Catnap smiles, getting up as well.
“And it’s about time for you to go to bed too, young man.”
He says quietly.
Lune sighs.
“Okay…”
Before Eve leaves, Lune gently grabs her hand, making her blush a bit.
“Can we play again tomorrow?”
The little catdog asks.
Eve smiles, nodding.
“Okay.” She says.
After saying goodnight to Lune and his parents, Eve started on her way home, feeling a lot better.
Even if she didn’t get the pendants, she’d made a wonderful new friend.
Lune was super nice, and she couldn’t wait to see him again.
Maybe the smiling critters weren’t nearly as bad as her mother had made them out to be…
But she knew she’d have to keep their friendship a secret, for if her mother ever found out, she’d be
in REAMS of trouble.