Chapter 4: Legs

"I think we're stuck," Anne said as she stared up at the quickly dimming sky.

To be fair, she and Sprig shouldn't have been wandering around in the forest so late, but in their defense, they found a cool cave to explore, and if they went home too early, Hop Pop might remember that it was their night to do the dishes.

Since they had been exploring a cave, they hadn't realized the sun was going down until they decided to head back home.

"Don't worry, Anne. It's not that high," Sprig assured her. He was also staring upwards as he examined the muddy wall of the giant pit. A giant pit that they had both fallen into on the way home. Since it had been dark, neither of them had seen it until it was too late. Sprig had been on Anne's shoulders, so all it took was for Anne to make one wrong step and they both found themselves falling into the bottom of a muddy pit.

The pit was about the size of Anne's closet back home and twice as tall as Anne herself. Sprig theorized that some giant animal must have dug the pit. Anne was just happy that said animal was no longer here.

The sun had set not too long ago, but there was still a faint halo of light over the horizon, which allowed Anne to make out the features on Sprig's face.

Anne touched the slippery mud wall. There was no way she could climb that. She would just slide right down.

"The ledge isn't too far away. I think we can hope out!" Sprig said cheerfully.

Before Anne could say anything, Sprig made a giant leap straight up and out of the pit.

"It's not too high," Sprig said and he peered over the ledge at her. "You can probably-" He paused. "Oh, wait a second…"

"Yeah! I can't just hop out like you!" Anne shouted up at him. "My legs don't work that way and the pit is too deep!"

Sprig looked sheepishly down at her. "Yeah, it's weird, your legs are longer than mine but not as springy. What do we do now?"

"Try and find something that can get me out of here, like a big stick or a long vine!" Anne instructed.

"Right! Okay!" Sprig said with a decisive nod. "I'll be right back! Don't-"

"Sprig, if you say don't go anywhere, I swear you're going to regret it."

Sprig chuckled. "Right, right, sorry. I'll be right back."

Anne heard rustling in the bushes above her and knew Sprig had hopped away. She could hear him moving around in the underbrush. Anne sat on the muddy ground and waited.

Minutes passed by, and Anne became alarmingly aware that she couldn't hear Sprig moving around through the plant life above her. Fear clenched her chest as she thought about all the creatures that roamed around the forest at night. The town was, for the most part, relatively safe because of all the lights and frogs around. Most creatures didn't venture too close, but out here in the forest…

Anne got to her feet. "Sprig? Sprig! Are you there?"

What was she going to do? It's not like she could protect him while she was stuck down in a hole.

"Sprig!"

"Here! I'm here!"

Anne sighed in relief at the familiar voice. She could barely make out Sprig's face peering over the side of the hole. When had it gotten so dark?

Sprig jumped into the hole, landing directly in front of her.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked.

Anne's mouth went dry. "I just… You were taking a while." Now she just sounded dumb

"Sorry about that. I couldn't find anything to help get you out."

"I'm not surprised," Anne said. "It's getting really dark. It's hard to see anything at all."

"Actually, frogs have really good nighttime vision, but even I was having trouble seeing. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't cloudy tonight." Anne couldn't see his expression, but he sounded worried. "What do we do now?" he asked.

Anne bit her lip. She didn't like the idea of sending Sprig out into the forest alone again, but it was probably safer for him to make the half-hour trip back into town so that he could get help instead of both of them waiting in the pit all night for some creature to find them.

Anne bent down and placed her hand on Sprig's shoulder; even though she could only make out his outline in the dark. "You'll have to go for help. Get Hop Pop. He can bring some rope and get me out of here."

"Leave you here?" Sprig asked uncertainly. "I don't know, Anne. You'll be alone here in the dark. Maybe we should-"

"I'm not waiting until morning," Anne interrupted, already knowing what he was going to suggest. "The less time we stay out here the safer we'll be, besides..."

Anne pulled out her phone. The glow from the home screen burned her eyes and with a few quick swipes she turned on the flashlight app."

Sprig gasped and took a step back, but his expression was one of surprise, not fear.

"Whoa, you didn't tell me you had a tiny sun in your phone!" he exclaimed.

Anne rolled her eyes and kept the light down to keep it from blinding them.

"It's not a sun, it's just a flashlight."

"Right of course… A flash... Light. Not a magical sun at all." He sounded like he didn't quite believe her.

"I'll be fine here while I wait for you. We're a half hour from home so it should only take you about an hour to get there and back, right? I'll be fine for that long. It's not like I'm scared of the dark, and it can't be worse than the first nights when I came here and had to sleep in a cave."

"I guess… I just don't feel good about leaving you here by yourself."

"I'll be fine," Anne insisted. "I'm not happy about being stuck down here either, but what else can we do?"

"I guess, it's just…" Sprig hesitated. "I'm actually not sure if I can find the way back."

Anne froze. "What do you mean?"

"I can usually see pretty well in the dark, but I'm not really familiar with this area. I'm not sure if I can find the path we took back home," Sprig explained. "Usually I would use the stars to guide me, but it's too cloudy tonight."

"So you don't know the way back home?"

"I'm not sure. I was looking for a glowing mushroom to help me see better, but I couldn't find any. If I had one I would probably be able to find the right path."

This was bad. It would be dangerous for Sprig to wander around the forest without knowing where he was going.

Anne looked down at her phone and groaned.

She really didn't have any other option, did she?

"Okay Sprig…" Anne said slowly. "I'm going to trust you with this." She held out her phone. "But I need you to promise you will take good care of it. This phone is my life, okay?"

From the light from her phone, she could see Sprig's bewildered expression.

"You… want me to take your phone?"

"It's our only option. You have to use the light from my phone to find the way back home."

"But Anne," Sprig said. "It's your phone."

The way he said it sounded as if she was giving him a vital part of her body, like her arm or leg. And in a way, she was giving him the most important piece of herself; her connection to her world.

"I know, but you might not make it back to Wartwood without some sort of light. I know you'll take care of it for me."

"But… you'll be left by yourself in the dark."

Anne tried to suppress the rush of panic that flooded her chest.

"Then you'll just have to hurry back as fast as you can. I'll be fine. I can handle spending some time in this stupid hole."

Anne held out her phone and she felt Sprig's finger's close around it. When he lifted it out of her hand, Anne suddenly felt empty.

Sprig fumbled awkwardly with the phone as he held it away from his body both in reverence and uncertainty; like it was a precious jewel and a snake that might bite him.

"I don't know about this…"

"Just hurry back, okay?" Anne didn't like this option either, but getting help was the safest choice, even if she had to sit alone in the dark for a while.

Sprig nodded. "I'll be as fast as I can. Don't worry, Anne. We'll get you out of this."

Sprig hopped up and out of the pit and Anne heard him land on the ground above her. As soon as he left the hole, she was plunged into darkness.

Anne blinked, but she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face or the mud wall beside her. The only source of light came from the faint glow from the sky between the trees, but because of the clouds, the normal glow from the moon and stars were dimmed.

She heard Sprig hopping through the forest, the sound of his feet on the leaves getting farther and farther away.

Anne sat down on the muddy ground and folded her legs beneath her. There was nothing she could do now but wait. It would be at least an hour before she heard from Sprig again and she had nothing to do, not even her phone to play with to pass the time.

Anne rested her back against the muddy wall of the pit. If she closed her eyes, her surroundings didn't change. All she could see was darkness.

Even though it was getting late, sleeping wasn't an option. Who knew what type of predators were roaming the forest at night; not to mention the bugs that might be in the pit with her.

Anne felt something tickle her arm and she frantically rubbed away the sensation. She really hoped the crawling sensation on her skin was all in her mind.

Why did the dark always make her fears seem more real?

Her thoughts turned back to Sprig. She really hoped he was okay. Although she was pretty sure Sprig would be safer making the half an hour trip back to town instead of spending all night with her trapped in a hole, Anne knew it was risky for him to be traveling through the forest at night. Especially since he had her phone, and the light could attract all sorts of unwanted attention.

Anne's heart dropped in her stomach at the thought.

What if her phone was the reason that some predator started targeting Sprig? He had been uneasy about going back on his own. Why hadn't Anne listened to him? Yes, he had been more worried about Anne than himself, but Anne had still insisted that he went along with her plan.

What if he got hurt, or even killed, because of her?

Anne shook her head and took a few steadying breaths.

No, no, Sprig is going to be okay, Anne told herself.

He was fast and resourceful. It was just because it was dark that her mind was starting to lead her down the worst possible scenario.

Think about it realistically, Anne, she told herself. Sprig will get home, tell Hop Pop what happened, and then Hop Pop, Polly and Sprig will find some rope and come rescue me. Hop Pop will probably want to lecture us both, but he will wait until I'm safe… Anne couldn't help but smile at that. Then, I'll get an earful.

Anne actually felt a bit better thinking about how her frog family would come rescue her. After all, they've been in worse situations.

Everything will be fine.

Sprig will be fine.

A flash of metal against the red sky.

Sprig's frightened eyes close as he flinches away- bracing for impact from the silver sword.

Anne doesn't even think, she just moves. Her sword clashes against another, just in time.

The next thing she knows, she's staring down the one person she never wanted to fight.

Anne shivers, even in the humid air. She really, really tries not to think about that night, but sometimes the images flash through her mind, unbidden. If she had been any slower Sprig would be...

No.

If Anne had never come to this world in the first place, Sprig would have never been in danger.

She usually tried to steer her thoughts away from Sasha and that night, but without her phone or her lovable frog family around, it was difficult to distract herself.

What if… what if she never got home?

Now she was left in the darkness with her thoughts. It was as if someone loosened a faucet she usually kept sealed tight.

What would her parents do without her? What would they think happened to her? Are there police looking for her right now or was she assumed dead?

All her thoughts, all her worries, they all started pouring out and she couldn't stop them.

Did people think she, Sasha, and Marcy ran away, or did they think something bad happened to all three of them?

As the minutes ticked by, a feeling of hopelessness starts to grow in her chest. It's always been there, an inevitability she just never wanted to acknowledge. She had been lying to herself. Hadn't she always known deep down that she would never get home?

As the night wore on, Anne curled up on her side, desperately trying to block out as many thoughts as she could. But the more she tried not to think, the more insistent they became.

Anne wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she knew it had to be at least two hours, maybe even more.

Sprig should have been here by now.

He would never leave her down in this hole, so something horrible must have happened to him, and it was all Anne's fault.

Anne was the one that insisted they go out exploring even though it was late. She insisted Sprig go back for help. She never meant for any of this to happen, but she never did, did she?

Anne stood up to the tax collectors, which only put a target on Hop Pop's back. She accepted Sasha's invitation for a party, only to find out it was a trap. Sure, Anne had saved the people of Wartwood a few times, but how many of those times were her own fault to begin with? If it wasn't for her, Wartwood would have never been in danger in the first place.

She wasn't meant to be in this world; she just made everything worse. She had made a mistake in stealing the music box, and now the whole town was suffering because of it. The truth was, the town would be better off without her.

She felt a sob rise up in her throat as her shoulders began to shake. It was all too much.

Anne was going to be stuck down here in this pit forever, and the worst part was, she deserved it.

Sprig felt terrible. It had taken longer than it should have to find enough rope to get Anne out, and then there were complications with the rescue party. To make matters worse, Sprig had gotten lost trying to find the way back to the pit he and Anne had fallen into. It had been two hours since he left Anne, when it should have taken him half that time.

Was Anne still okay? Did some other predator find her before he could?

Finally, with the help from the sun in Anne's phone, Sprig began to recognize the path he was on. He was close to where he had left Anne.

"This way!" Sprig shouted. "Anne's over here!"

He couldn't help but rush ahead. He had to make sure Anne was okay.

"Anne, Anne, Anne!" He didn't even hesitate as he leaped into the pit.

He panicked when he didn't see her at first. Frantically, he cast the light around the darkened pit until he saw something curled up in the corner.

"Anne!" he shouted as he rushed to her side. "Anne, are you okay?"

"Sprig?"

Something was wrong. Her voice was raspy, and her movements were slow as she uncurled herself and sat up to look at him.

From the light in the phone, he caught a glimpse of Anne's face, and his heart stuttered in his chest.

Anne's eyes were red and puffy, and he swore he saw tear stains on her cheeks before she quickly wiped at her eyes.

"You're okay?" she asked in a mixture of disbelief and relief.

"I'm so sorry I took so long!" Sprig apologized. "I got lost and-"

Suddenly, Anne leaned forward and wrapped her long arms around him, squeezing him maybe a little too tight in a warm, Anne-hug.

He did his best to hug her back, but with the way he was squished in her iron grip, the best he could do was pat her shaking arm.

"Anne?"

"Sorry," Anne said in embarrassment as she pulled away. She turned away so he couldn't examine her face in the low light. "I thought something happened to you."

There was something unnerving about the fact that Anne had been crying, and not just because Sprig hated seeing his family cry. He had seen Anne cry from happiness multiple times, but he had only seen Anne actually break down into tears two or three times. Usually, something had to be really bad to make Anne cry like that.

Even more worrisome was the fact that Anne hadn't asked for her phone back yet.

"Don't worry, the rescue party is almost here," Sprig assured her. "You'll be home soon."

Anne flinched at the mention of home, and Sprig felt like he had said something wrong.

"Are you okay?" He knew she wasn't, but he had to ask.

At first she didn't speak.

He tried again. "Anne, what's wrong?"

"Sprig… if I ask you something, will you promise to be completely honest with me?" She sat back on her legs, her eyes cast down to the muddy ground.

"Sure, Anne," Sprig agreed, trying to ignore the feeling of dread in his chest.

"Remember, this isn't your opinion. I want the truth," she reminded him. "This is really important."

Sprig nodded.

"Do you think… do you think Wartwood would have been better off if I never showed up?" she asked in a small voice.

Sprig blinked. The answer rising up quickly in his throat before he squashed it down. He wanted to shout no, of course not, because Sprig couldn't imagine a Wartwood that never met Anne. But that wasn't the question she asked was it?

"Think about it, Sprig. If it wasn't for me, you guys wouldn't have fought back against the tax collectors. Hop Pop wouldn't have been seen as a revolutionary, and you guys wouldn't have been stupid enough to accept an invitation to the toad's party. And don't try and tell me that those things would have happened without me, but because we both know that's not true."

There was a moment of silence where Sprig tried to figure out where this was coming from. Why was Anne suddenly blaming herself, and if she always felt this way, why hadn't she said anything until now?

"You're right," Sprig admitted carefully. "Things in Wartwood have changed because of you. We are in more danger with the toads, and yeah, that probably wouldn't have happened without you."

The defeated expression on Anne's face made him rush out his next sentence.

"But that doesn't mean things haven't changed for the better too!" Sprig insisted. "The town has never been brave enough to stand up to the toads before we met you. Sure, that means we're in more danger, but it's worth it to stand up for ourselves. Anne, you've brought this town closer together in three months than we've ever been before. We never had anyone to fight for us, or made us realize we could fight for ourselves. We never realized how strong we can be together."

Anne stared at him, stunned. "Really?"

"Of course! Everything has gotten so much better since you got here."

Anne frowned. "Sprig, I know you are just trying to make me feel better-"

"Anne?" Hop Pop's voice called from above them. "Sprig? Where are you kiddo?"

"Here!" Sprig shouted. "We're down here!"

Anne looked to see the flickering of lanterns.

"Careful Hopidiah, I think I see the pit right there," a second masculine voice said.

"Stumpy?" Anne asked, her face twisting in confusion.

"Well, don't just stand there wasting time, young man," an older female voice ordered. "Tie the rope around that tree so we can get our girl out."

"Mrs. Croaker? What are they both doing here?" Anne asked.

"Looking for you," Sprig explained. He didn't understand why Anne was so surprised. "The whole town is! Once I told them what happened, everyone wanted to help find you."

"The… the whole town?" Anne asked.

"Of course! They were all really worried about you when I told them you were trapped in a pit you couldn't hop out of. The whole town organized a rescue party… which is kind of why it took so long, because everyone wanted to help. Even the mayor came out to look for you."

"Tie this rope around yourself, kiddo," Hop Pop called as he threw down the end of the rope into the pit. "We're all goin' to pull yew up!"

When Anne didn't move, Sprig helped her tie the rope around her waist.

"Anne, you're thinking of things the wrong way," Sprig said. "It's not about if things would have been safer for us if you hadn't come here. Thinking like that will just drive you crazy. The point is, you're here now, and we all want to help you, because you're one of us."

The rope grew taut and Anne looked upwards.

"Alright everyone, get ready to pull," the mayor directed from someplace behind the townsfolk who had each grabbed a section of the rope.

"Sprig, are you sure I'm not too much for them?" Anne asked.

There was something about Anne's questions that felt wrong. She didn't ask if she was too heavy, she asked if she was too much.

Sprig shook his head with a small, knowing smile. "You know, just recently we learned we're actually pretty strong when we work together. So don't worry, Anne, we got you."

Uhh, hey everyone! Sorry this took so long. Basically, I promised another fandom that I'm in that I would update a chapter of a different fic, so that took a while. But don't worry, I'm back! And to make up for it, I plan to release two chapters this week, this one and another one (a shorter, more lighthearted one).

As for this chapter, I had a few requests for the differences between their legs/ ability to hop out of situations. I almost gave up on this chapter because I wasn't liking how it was turning out. I'm still not super happy with it, but here you go anyway! I hope at least you guys will get some enjoyment out of it.