Dorothy's Moment of Truth

It is typical of the attention to details that goes into any Harvest Moon game that the Wedding Events of your character will differ slightly for each Eligible Girl.
After the marriage vows have been pronounced, every character will come forward to congratulate the happy couple. Some will speak to both parties to the marriage, while some will speak either to you or to the blushing bridge. Every marriage brings different responses from the townspeople.

Dorothy's Wedding is unique for another reason, however. It is the first time that you will be able to see her face in all of its exquisite beauty. She is truly a rare beauty and this fact makes her journey from desperate shyness into the light even more poignant.

She will show her face first when she makes her vow by stating, 'I do.' She shows her face for the second time when your character promises to make her happy, after receiving the good wishes of every other character.

After the wedding, when your wife speaks to you for the first time at home, Dorothy once more will hide her face beneath her cowl. Were this a society where women covered their heads, her dress code would not be unusual, but no other woman conceals her beauty in Alvarna. Like Alicia's tall pointed 'witch's hat', though, Dorothy's hood is an integral part of her persona and it is the differences between each individual that make the exploration of characters in Harvest Moon so satisfying.

For those players who may wonder what would occur if your character chooses the 'other option' at the point where you can make your proposal, here is the result:

After giving Dorothy the Blessing Pendant, you will have the opportunity to ask her to marry you. Dorothy has complained that she feels weak almost to the point of fainting whenever she is in your presence. You tell her that, as her condition appears 'incurable', you may have a solution. Your choices are:

... will you marry me?'
... try holding your breath.'

If you choose the latter, Dorothy will protest that she believes she actually would pass out if she were to hold her breath and then returns the Blessing Pendant to you.

Her heart level will remain at 10 afterwards, giving you the chance to reconsider your response...

There are more dramatic 'second chances' in Rune Factory 2 where Marriage is concerned. In one of Cecilia's Request Events, she will confide that Jake has proposed marriage. You then have the option to tell her not to marry your Rival. Whatever response you choose in this Event, Cecilia will NOT marry Jake at this point in the game. She will not marry you either as the Request will occur when she is not at sufficient Heart Level to accept any proposal from you.

When you have an Eligible Girl at 10 Hearts but do not propose to her and this situation continues for a certain length of time, your Rival finally will take matters into his own hands and ask the girl to marry HIM. As with any Wedding in Rune Factory 2, the marriage ceremony will occur at the Church.

If you suddenly realise that you want the girl for yourself, you then will have one final chance to make your intentions known. You can steal the bride from your Rival at the 11th hour!

In all fairness to the Rival, though, it is YOU whom the girl loves if she is at maximum heart level. She only accepts the proposal from your Rival because she has lost all hope that you ever will ask her to marry you...

As in other Harvest Moon games, the Rival cannot marry the girl until the you have had adequate time to court her yourself. This gives you the 'edge' where Courtship is concerned.

The difference here is that Rival Marriages will occur according to a pre-ordained schedule. The earliest will occur in the second year and the last in Winter of the fourth. The actual schedule of each Rival Wedding is included in my Courtship and Marriage Guide now but I will state here and now that Cecilia is the first to capitulate in the Summer of the 2nd Year.

Finally, I consider the existence of this option one more reason to avoid too much haste when you are playing the 1st Generation game. It is a rich and satisfying game in its own right and players who move too quickly into the next generation will cheat themselves considerably where experience of Events is concerned.