I thought combining these episodes would make a little more fluid chapter. Enjoy!
The next day…
Faint lights strained through Anne's eyelids as she opened them, the familiar sound of her phone alarm waking her up. She reached out instinctively, turned it off and rubbed her eyes, still reeling from a weird dream. She was unsure of why her bed felt so stiff and why she felt like something was off, but quickly realized what was wring when she opened her eyes to see two frog-like creatures staring at her. A smaller tadpole was looking fiercely at someone right next to her while slamming a rolling pin in her flippers. She them remembered the insanity of the lady few days and how only now she'd gotten a full night's sleep. The old one (Hop-Pop, if she remembered right), seemed to be glaring at her.
"I told you that breakfast was at sunrise sharp. Do you know where the sun is now?" Anne looked around in the basement, no openings for her to see outside in sight.
"Uh…in the sky?" She gave a nervous smile as Hop-Pop's glare only deepend.
"Don't you give me any of that sass; it's the middle of the day! Do you creatures always get up this late?" Anne shook her head as she sat up.
"No. But I didn't really see a point in waking up early now that we're…here, so I just put my alarm late." The pink frog (Sprig; she remembered him much better) walked up to her.
"Anyway, did ya sleep well?" Hop-Pop pulled him back.
"Careful, boy! It could be hungry." The little tadpole jumped in the air and chimed in.
"For your guts!" Her yelling made Sasha, who Anne remembered was here, stir in her bag.
"...can you guys not yell at each other for one night?" She yawned quietly. "I'm trying to sleep in…" Anne stuck her tongue out.
"Okay, no offence, but you can relax, dude. I'm not going to eat something that clearly doesn't bathe in the morning." Hop-Pop brushed a bit of dirt off his ascot and shit his tongue out at a fly, eating it.
"Hm. Fair point." Sprig holds his arms out towards her.
"See? I told you it was harmless! They both are." Anne raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not an 'it'. I'm a girl." Sprig keeps his arms held out.
"Sorry. I told you she was harmless!" Hop-Pop shrugged.
"I guess." All the speaking had stirred Sasha enough to finally wake up.
"Ugh. Anne, what are you doing in my hou…" She trailed off when she saw the purple tadpole in front of her, her eyes wide. "Oh." She turned to Anne with a frustrated expression. "Not a dream, I take it." Hop-Pop put a finger to his chin(?).
"Hmph. Not very sure about that one, though." He went back up the stairs and the tadpole followed him, pointing the rolling pin at them.
"Just give me an excuse to use ol' Doris here. Give me one!" She hopped up the stairs. Anne made a concerned expression.
"I think the little one wants to kill us." Sprig nodded.
"Yeah, that's just Polly. So, are you guys excited to be trapped in another world, possibly for the rest of your lives with no escape? Very jealous." Sasha began to seethe as Anne replied.
"Um…not really. I miss home, I miss my stuff. I also miss my friends." Her eyes widened as she added, "Other than Sasha of course!" Sasha stopped seething and turned to Anne with a confused expression. Sprig stood in the middle, looking between the two.
"Well, while you find them, why don't I be you guys' friends in the meantime?" Sasha raised an eyebrow.
"You?"
"Me!"
"You."
"What? Is that a bad idea?" Anne sat with her legs crossed and thought about it.
"I mean, it doesn't sound like the strangest thing we've heard." Sprig nodded.
Yeah! C'mon, what do you guys usually do for fun in your world?" Anne put a finger to her chin and pondered for a second.
"Well, sometimes we'd go to the mall,"
"No idea what that is."
"Drink boba,"
"No idea either."
"Shop for clothes."
"You buy clothes?" Sasha stood to the side, not contributing. As she did, her mind started sifting through some memories, a few of which made her chuckle and grin.
"You know, sometimes we'd go around and graffiti buildings with our tags. That was fun." Anne raised an eyebrow.
"You only ever invited me once, and I didn't even show up." Sasha's grin dropped sharply downwards.
"Yeah, like I forgot. Luz was always a way better partner than you ever could've be-" She caught herself at the end when she realized what she was saying. Her eyes widened and she quietened down quickly. Sprig looked between the two girls with uncertainty before shrugging and changing topic.
"Well, did you do anything else? Preferably something I know about?" Anne thought for a second.
"...We also had a monthly beach trip. It usually rocked!" Sasha reflexively winced slightly at the mention of the beach, which went unnoticed. Sprig lit up.
"You'd have to go out of the valley to find a beach, but there's a lake nearby. Maybe that'd be close enough?" Anne nodded excitedly.
"That sounds awesome! Right, Sash?" She turned only to see Sasha back on her sleeping bag, facing away from them.
"No. You can go, but don't expect me to follow." Anne raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, dude? Are you sure? It's not the beach, but we can make it simila-" She was interrupted by Sasha.
"I'm not going. End. Of. Discussion." Anne wanted to keep trying, but her throat tightened at those words. She sighed.
"...Alright. I may have a spare swimsuit in here. Thank goodness for my overprepared parents." She ran to her sleeping bag and opened her backpack, pulling out a black wetsuit with blue streamlines. "So, uh…you got a place to change privately?" Sprig shot out his tongue towards a nearby door. "Thanks, dude." She walked over to and through the door, shutting it softly behind her.
Sprig waited in place, alone in the room with Sasha. He put his hands behind his back and shuffled back and forth in place. Not wanting things to be awkward, he tried to start a conversation.
"So…why do you hate the beach?" Sasha didn't reply. He tried again, but louder. "Uh, did you hear me? Should I shout!?" He heard a curt reply in return.
"Loud and clear, pipsqueak. It's none of your beeswax." Sprig looked at her confusedly.
"What do bees have to do with this?" He heard a sigh from Sasha before she continued.
"It's a figure of expression, dummy. And you don't need to know. Just be quiet, alright?" Sprig hesitantly nodded and stood in place for a few more seconds before the changing room door burst open, Anne on the other side.
"I'm ready! Let's do this." She and Sprig ran up the stairs, leaving Sasha alone, which made her confused with herself.
I'm finally alone. That's what I wanted, wasn't it?...
So why do I feel so…sad?
She reached into her bag and pulled out a picture. In the picture was her with the four girls that meant everything to her. She was in the middle, a hand on Anne and Luz's waists, Anne to the left, Luz to the right. She had a wide smile and mellow eyes, a near contrast to Luz's small smile and wink as she put up bull ears behind Marcy's head. Marcy was slightly smirking as she did a thumbs-up, like the geek she was. Anne was in the other side of the photo, eyes closed and fingers in a peace sign as she held Sasha's shoulder. Sasha focused on Luz, a feeling of regret bottlenecking her throat. She had kept all her emotions in for the entirety of the time that she and Anne had spent here, and she needed them out. A tear fell down her cheek which she wiped away as quickly as possible. She pressed the photo to her chest.
"I hope you're okay, Luzy. Wherever you are. Please be safe."
She took a deep breath and put the photo down. Just as she did, Sprig hopped down the stairs, a frantic spring in his step.
"Hey, other creature who's name I totally remember! Hop-Pop's asleep and we're sneaking out because he didn't want us to go to the lake. Anne said to ask you to cover for us." Sasha was startled by his sudden entrance and fell back from the surprise. She sat back up and looked confused.
"Uh…I guess I can-" She was immediately interrupted by him.
"Great, see you later!" He hopped back up the stairs as quickly as he had hopped down. Sasha was still in place with puzzlement as to what she had agreed to. Does she have to distract the old frog guy? And what about that tadpole girl? She sighed.
I have to do everything for Anne, don't I?
She stood up, stretched her arms, and walked up the steps. She didn't really know the house very well, so she just followed the sound of snoring and found herself in what looked like a study. Books on acting, history, and literature were stacked horizontally in bookcases around the room. A desk had been situated near the left wall, and next to it was an occupied chair, a tuft of grey hair peeking from behind. Sasha walked on the other side of it, immediately creeped out by how the old frog slept. His eyes were completely open, and his stomach filled and emptied with air, each movement accompanied by a snore.
So I just look over the geezer and distract him when he wakes up? Sounds simple enough.
She sat on the ground and waited for him to wake up; it'd be too hard to distract him that long. She smacked her lips and patted her thighs to a random beat in an effort to pass the time, but she was clearly bored and stopped. She looked around the room and a certain book caught her eye. It was surprising that it did, since she never had been a real big fan of books; she usually teased Marcy for wanting to spend her Sundays in the libraryry instead of with her and the others. The book was called The Frog Knight and Other Amphibian Plays by Hoppoppity Poppop Plantar. Sasha raised an eyebrow and took it out. She leafed through it and found the title's play and read through it. She was much more into it than she thought she would be, and leaned on the bookcase to feel more comfortable. She was halfway through when she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.
"Ahem." She jumped up a bit, startled, dropping the book from her lap as she looked up at who it was. Hop-Pop stood in front of her with his hands behind his back and a nervous smile. "I, uh, never would've taken you for the type to read a play book." Sasha's expression turned from surprise to frustration as she crossed her arms.
"Just because I act like a brute doesn't mean I'm stupid. Did you think that?" Hop-Pop's smile tried into a worried grimace as he shook his head.
"No, no, no. Not at all. I…uh…erm…" Sasha scoffed at his reaction and turned back to the book.
"Don't worry. I don't care about your opinion anyway." Hop-Pop's worried expression faded away as it was replaced with one of concern. He looked to the side awkwardly.
"Well, I'm not quite sure that's a respectful thing to say." Sasha ignored him as she continued going through the book, silently hoping he'd go away. He shrugged and was going for the door when she remembered what Sprig asked. She stood up as quick as possible and grabbed Hop-Pop's shoulder before he saw the open door in the main hall.
"Wait!" He stopped and turned his head to her, confused. She tried to think of something quickly. "I, uh…Anne and Sprig fell asleep playing a game downstairs and don't want to be disturbed, so, um…you want to read the book with me and…?" She struggled to get the words out. "...give me some of your commentary?" Hop-Pop's eyes brightened at that sentence.
"Finally." He whispered. "I can reach the young ones." He ran over to the book, slammed it on his desk, and pulled up a second chair for Sasha. "Here you are. The floor's not very comfortable. I should know; I've sat there reading countless times." Sasha kept a fake smile on her face and walked up to the chair, sitting down incredibly straight. She immediately braced herself for boredom, but Hop-Pop simply turned a page and started reading dramatically from it. "Oh, tortuous Glenn! How couldst thou hath kill-ed my wife? Is mine life really such a hell?" He turned to her and motioned his head to it. "Come on, you be Glenn, the Frog Knight's rival." She raised an eyebrow, but moved closer to the book and followed the line in a dull voice.
"You believe I care? How pitiful of thee. I believe you shoul-" Hop-Pop shook his head.
"No, no. With feeling behind it. Imagine you are Glenn, a terrible, backstabbing man who just killed Robert's wife!" Sasha was a slight bit annoyed at him, so she tried again, putting more edge into her voice.
"You believe I care!? How pitiful of thee. I believe you should throw yourself off the cliff where I pushed her! May you have a great tumble down!" Hop-Pop seemed to like that because he continued with the next line.
"How vicious! How visceral! How vile! That you would condemn her to that, and suggest me to follow; you warrant damnation. Damnation I tell you!" Sasha chuckled evilly like she believed Glenn would, the jerk.
"Damnation doesn't apply to wealthy. We can simply bribe the devil." Hop-Pop responded as Robert.
"Well, how will you pay the devil? In sins? Because to hell with thou!" He stops there and turns to her. "The scene ends with Robert, the Frog Knight, stabbing Glenn with the sword of his wife's, Patricia, family sword." Sasha didn't even notice how much fun she was having with this. A memory stirred in her mind.
"Heh. This reminds of this time when me and my friends were practicing for a play and we ended up blowing it off to dance on the roof. Anne ended up taking the blame when we got caught. It ruled." Hop-Pop looked at her confused.
"...the dancing or Anne getting in trouble?" Sasha's eyes widened as she shook her head.
"The dancing! I wasn't very happy that Anne got in trouble with her parents, but I didn't want get in the way." She looked away with guilt on her face for a moment. "I would've never memorized those lines either way. It's…better I blew it off. I'm not that kind of person." Hop-Pop side-eyed her with a concerned look on his face, but he didn't press.
"Well, I'm glad that you take such an interest in these things. Polly and Sprig never really di-" He was suddenly shocked into reality as he patted his pockets. "The key, the key! It's gone! Oh, no. Did they get out? Is the town rioting? Are they dead? Has Anne eaten the kids, the whole town!?" He jumped up from the chair and hopped quickly to the front door, jiggling the knob and being surprised when it didn't open. "It's…still locked?" He went towards the basement, which made Sasha freak out a bit, so she ran up to him and stopped him.
"Heeeeeeey. I'm pretty sure they're still asleep, and we shouldn't disturb them. Maybe wait an hour or something? We can continue acting." Hop-Pop's face had a serious expression.
"Look, Sasha. I know you were having fun, but I need to check if they're still there. If they are, we'll continue. It's my responsibility to warn the town if not." Sasha kept stalling him.
"Look, at some point you have to learn to trust her, because if you don't, You'll never understand that she may be a great person inside, and that she would probably be nicer to you if you treated her like a person…" Sasha trailed off at that, unsure of her feelings. Hop-Pop took advantage of this and pushed past her, opening the basement door. Where Sasha expected there to be an empty room was Anne and Sprig across from each other playing a board game. Anne was in the middle of shaking up some dice up in her hands.
"Come on. Mama needs a new pair of shoes." She looked down at her single yellow shoe. "Seriously though, I do need new shoes." Hop-Pop looked at them suspiciously.
"You guys been here all morning, huh?" Anne nodded as she rolled.
"Yeah, dude. I'm on a winning streak." Sprig nodded in assurement.
"I owe her my first and second-born child. Hope she's ready to raise those suckers." Anne moved her piece, buy stopped as she reached in her pocket, pulling out the key to the front door.
"Oh, by the way, Hop Pop. We found this on the floor. You must have dropped it. We didn't want to wake you up." Hop-Pop still had an eyebrow raised in suspicion, but hopped down and took the key from Anne.
"Dang shallow pockets. Well, you get what you pay for. Thank you, Anne." He was about to hop back out when he thought if something. "Hey, uh, if you aren't busy, maybe this afternoon you can come with me to man our stand? We sell vegetables in the market." Anne thought about it before shrugging.
"Sure, dude. As long as I get a cut if the profits." Hop-Pop smiled.
"Ha ha. No." He hopped back up and turned to Sasha. "Guess you were right about trust. And I'm guessing you weren't only talking about her." Sasha looked down to the ground with a small frown on her face. "It's alright. Anyway, wanna go back to acting out the play?" He starts walking back to the study, a smile on his face. Sasha hesitates before following. Anne deserves some time with her new friend. But was that what was driving her away, or the fact that she felt genuinely excited to continue?
Since neither of the girls had gotten breakfast from waking up too late (and Hop-Pop sleeping most of the morning, but he left that part out), he's whipped up something quick for them to eat for lunch. Sprig and Polly sat with them while they ate. They were both quite enthusiastic for food until they saw the food, which equated to what looked like liquid that comes from compost, which as everyone knows, is worse than the compost itself. Anne reflexively scrunched up her face.
"Uh, you know what? I think I'm gonna pass." She put her spoon down. Sasha did the same, but pushed the bowl towards the other side of the table.
"Yeah. Ditto on that." Hop-Pop looked at her with half-lidded eyes.
"Why? Is my food not good enough for the princesses?" Sasha could feel a quip erupt from her.
"Well, if this is your good food, I'd hate to see what the bad foods like. Must be used as bug poison." Sprig and Polly's jaws dropped.
"Ohhh!"
"Oh oh oh!"
Anne was surprised at the sudden quip. Hop-Pop certainly was as well.
"Oh, yeah? Well, you...I...um…" Sasha leaned back in her chair as she let another quip fly.
"What's the matter, Hop Pop? Frog in your throat? Maybe we can use it for better food."
"Ohhh!"
"She gotcha again. She gotcha again!"
"Oh, dang it! You know what? I'm just gonna go to the stand; Anne, you're coming with me." He grabbed Anne's arm and stormed to the front door. He looked back at the three as he opened it. "I don't understand, Sasha. I feed you, I house you, I read plays with you and this is how you repay me? If you don't shape up soon, I'm throwin' you out!" He enunciated his point by throwing the door closed behind him and Anne. Sasha crossed her arms, a small twinge of guilt in her heart. She still tried to appear annoyed.
"Jeez. Why's he so high strung? He should let loose." Sprig shrugs.
"I don't know. He has the two least stressful kids in the world to look after." He launched his tongue out to catch a fly but accidentally broke some dishes. Polly launched herself and started pounding them into dust with her rolling pin. Sasha rolled her eyes at this.
"Never mind. I understand." She stood up and grinned. "But that doesn't mean he's got his own problems." She grabbed a random stick off the walk, hunched her back, and started talking in a hicksy voice. "Eat my food that tastes like vomit! Come with me, Anne; I'll work you like a wage slave!" Sport and Polly keep laughing at Sasha's acting, which makes her go further. "I'm so mad at you all, I'm probably going to break something!" She took the cane, held it sideways over her knee, and brought it down as hard as she could, breaking it cleanly in two, as Sprig and Polly shrieked in horror. Sasha raised her eyebrow. "What? It's just a stick." Sprig shook his head and motioned to some paintings of older looking Hop-Pops.
"That wasn't just a stick. It was Hop Pop's special cane, passed down from his father, Hop Poppity Pop, all the way from his father, Hop-and-Lock-Drop Soppity Pop." Sasha raised an eyebrow.
"Oh. So, that means…" Sprig had a bit of a strained face as he tried to think of how to phrase it before Polly spoke bluntly.
"He'll pro'lly kick you out and let Anne stay." Sasha's eyes widened and she shook her head.
"Oh no. I am not going back to that cave. I swear a bug crawled in my ear a week ago and it has not left." Her eyes flashed with a memory of rain and thunder. Of her and Anne having to hold each other to conserve warmth. Of bugs crawling in her hair and in her nostrils and her ears. It was horrible. She made a disgusted face. "The nights were the hardest." Sprig looked at her with a sympathetic gaze, remembering her curled up in the basement earlier.
"Don't worry, Sasha. We'll do whatever it takes to help you." Polly scoffed.
"Eh, count me out." Sprig's eyes went wide.
"Polly! Seriously?" Polly held her hands forward in protest.
"What? I hardly know her. She's also a bit rude." Sasha walked up to her and put her hand on the table, giving Polly a mean look.
"Funny, I remember you trying to intimidate me and Anne earlier this morning. Pathetic attempt really. But it was very rude." She leaned forward, her face inches from Polly's. Her voice became very low. "Are you gonna help me, or are you try to be rude? Because I don't tolerate rudeness." Polly started shaking, something that didn't happen to her often.
"I…I…" She burst into tears and hopped over to the basement stairs. Sprig's jaw dropped again, but not from amazement. It turned into an angry stare.
"Hey! Why'd you do that? Polly's just a baby." Sasha grabbed the two broken parts of the cane and started walking to the door.
"So? They gotta learn young to have manners. Now you know someone that's good with wood?" Sprig looked incredulous, and wanted to snipe at her, but held back from it and sighed.
"There's guy called Leopold Loggle, the local woodsmith. He should be able to do it." Sasha gave a grin and pat him on the head.
"There. Thank you. Now, let's go. We don't want me to be thrown out, do we?" Sasha opened the door and went through, Sprig following behind. Sasha did not notice, however, that he had neglected to answer her question.
"Uh-huh. Oh, yes. Well, aren't you fascinating? Yes, you are. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm." Loggle flipped several lenses on his 'glasses', able to see the finest grain on the broken cane. Sasha crossed her arms and tapped her finger.
"Hello? Can you stop humming and fix it?" He looked over again before pointing a finger up.
"As a matter of fact, I caaaaaaaaannot." Sasha raised an eyebrow as Sprig chipped in.
"Huh. Can you make a new one?"
"Absolutelyyyyyyyy not." Sasha was trying to keep her annoyance in check and grumbled.
"Well, do you have that we can buy?"
"Of course I doooooo…n't. I don't." Sasha's eye twitched.
"Can you stop doing that?" Loggle shook his head.
"Sorry, missy. Old smithing accident. You don't want to know." Sasha's interest perked up.
"I'm listening." Loggle nodded.
"Tripped on an anvil. Landed neck-first on a metal pipe." He pulled his uniform down and showed a small hole in his throat. "Pierced my voice box clean through!" Both Sasha and Sprig chuckled.
"That's cool, man."
"Awesome!"
They both looked at each other in confusion before purposefully looking away. Loggle shrugged.
"Switched over to wood after that; worst thing you can get is a splinter. Anyhow, I'm afraid I can't do much for you. This cane was made with wood from the incredibly rare, extremely dangerous Doom Tree!" Sprig gasped. Sasha did not, instead scoffing.
"That sounds like a stupid name." Loggle ignored her and continued.
"Few have made it to the Doom Tree alive, fewer yet returned. It holds many secrets that mortals dare not-" Sasha interrupted him.
"Yeah, mhm. Scary, dangerous, whatever. Just tell us where the tree is." Loggle harrumphed and pulled out a parchment, spreading it across the table.
"Okay, okay. I got a map to the Doom Tree right here, but it'll cost ya. Cost ya quite a bit." Sasha responded by taking out her phone, swiping up on home fir the camera option, positioning it above, and pressing the button. Loggle stood still, shocked, before sighing in defeat. "Or you can do that. For free." Sasha turned to Sprig.
"Alright, we got what we need. We don't want Hop-Pop to get back before we're finished, do we?" Sprig stayed quiet again. Sasha noticed this time, but didn't say anything, walking away. Sprig took a deep breath, and followed. He wasn't going to break his secret promise to Anne.
"Fresh vegetables! Fresher than your newborn child! Fresher still than the little egg he came from. More delicious too!"
Anne was very confused at the way Hop-Pop was hawking, but it was clearly working, as they were almost always running out of stock. Any time they were close, Hop-Pop would signal Anne to run over to the farm and bring back as many vegetables as she could carry. It was a bit tiring, but Anne felt quite happy with her efforts. She used to help Luz and Sasha a lot with getting things from their lockers during class, so she felt a bit prepared. This work felt more rewarding to her, strangely. She wasn't sure why. As she lugged what seemed like mutant radishes over her shoulder and behind the stand. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and turned to Hop-Pop.
"Do you usually make Sprig do this?" Hop-Pop finished taking the coppers of someone and seeing them off before turning to Anne.
"Well, normally we don't get this many people here. I'm guessing they want to get a look at the freakish new creature helping me." Anne made a hurt face and rubbed her shoulder.
"Ouch. You really don't have a filter sometimes." Hop-Pop chuckled.
"No, I guess I don't." He paused for a moment to help another customer and sold a radish before turning back to her. "So, uh, can I ask you a bit about Sasha? If it's not too much trouble?" Anne made a confused face but shrugged and sat on the ground.
"Sure, dude. Whaddaya wanna know?" Hop-Pop gulped as he asked.
"Has she ever shown any interest in literary stuff like plays before?" Anne blew some air out of her nose.
"Nope. She kinda hates it actually. Just the idea of performing lines to someone else bugs her. Did she tell you the story of when we blew off rehearsal for a play and had a dance party instead?" Hop-Pop nodded.
"Uh-huh. I also heard you took the fall. Why?" Anne was unsure how to answer.
"Um…because Sasha told me to. She said she'd let me borrow a really cute shirt after. It looked good on me." Hop-Pop's expression turned confused.
"Did you get in trouble with your parents for clothes?" Anne was about to argue when she realized she didn't have one. Hop-Pop turned and sold some turnips before turning back to her. "And if you think I don't have a filter, then I'm not sure you were fully present for lunch." Anne wasn't sure what to think at the moment, so she deflected his response.
"Why are you asking this anyway?" Hop-Pop froze in the middle of a sell. From what he could see, Sasha wouldn't want others to know about this morning. She clearly liked the play he showed her, but from what Anne told him, no one else knew that. Should he tell her the truth? Sasha had treated him terribly after their moment and probably deserved to be knocked a step down. He was about to tell Anne until he remembered something from years ago. It made him rethink everything. Anne was staring at him the whole time as he stood still without blinking for a full minute straight. She snapped her fingers.
"Hey, you good?" Hop-Pop broke from his trance and looked over at Anne.
"Oh. Uh…I was thinking of showing you girls a fascinating book about this world, but now I know you won't like it." He gave her a nervous smile before turning to the next customer. "Now, we're running low on potatoes. Get some, will ya?" Anne raised an eyebrow in suspicion but shrugged it off and went to continue her work.
"I've never seen someone just yank off a monster's limb like that. Do you think It'll be okay?" Sasha just kept walking while spinning a new cane in her hands.
"Why should I care? It tried to kill us."
"You went first!"
"We needed the cane."
"You didn't have to rip it off so violently! I can still hear its screams." Sasha scoffed at that.
"Hm. Not my fault you're such a scaredy-cat." Sprig balled up his fists in anger. He had had it. He stopped in place and jumped over Sasha in front of her.
"I am not a scaredy-cat, whatever that is; I'm still offended by the 'scared' part. Why are you so mean and rude and frustrating? All day today you've only done bad things; you made Polly cry; you hurt that creature for no reason; you broke Hop-Pop's cane for no reason other than that you could! We had to go on this whole thing because of that! Name one good thing you've done! One!"
…
Sasha couldn't respond.
Her throat tightened with guilt. Why was she doing this? Polly was just a kid. That monster wasn't the one that attacked first. That broken cane gave her nothing but cheap laughs.
"I…you're right." Of all the things she could have said, Sprig did not think she would say that. "Look, we gotta get one thing straight. Up until yesterday, I didn't know how long I was gonna be here. I kinda thought I could just…do whatever and let out a bit of anger in this place because I wouldn't be here long enough for it to matter. But…you know, the closed valley and all that got in the way." She sighed and hung her head. "I still haven't gotten used to it." She heard nothing in response and lifted her head slightly. Sprig was looking at her expectantly. "I don't really know what else to say." Sprig held his hands out for a hug.
"Maybe an apology?" Sasha held a plan out and replied immediately.
"Don't push your luck." Sasha's glare softened. "But I was wrong about you being scaredy-cat. Standing up to me must've been pretty tough." Sprig gave a nervous smile.
"I was silently screaming in my head the entire time." Sasha raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and continued walking. Sprig followed her. "There is someone that deserves an apology when we get back, though. And you're going to give it to her." Sasha raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously? Ugh, fine. But only because it's, like, morally wrong not to." Sprig winked at her knowingly.
"Suuuuuuuuure."
After arriving at the Plantar household along with Anne and Hop-Pop, Sasha apologized to Polly for the intimidation, which apparently wasn't needed.
"Oh no, it's okay. If you really wanna make it up to me, teach me how to be scary like you!" Sasha felt a little bit unsure how to proceed, but shrugged.
"Meh, alright. But you forgive me, right?"
"Not until Lesson forty-five!" She gave Polly a glare. "Lesson three then!"
She brought the cane to Hop-Pop and explained what happened.
"So, I was giving Polly and Sprig a little show that was making them laugh, and I…wenttoofarandbrokeyourcanebutIgotanewonepleasedontkickmeout." Hop-Pop was somehow able to understand her rambling, but wasn't sure how to respond.
"Um…well, Sasha, truth be told, I was never gonna throw you out." Sprig, Anne and Polly gasped in the background. "I was just talking tough so that you'd show me a little bit more respect. Also, do you expect me to separate you two from each other? Like some kind of monster?" A pause came from Sasha as she hesitated to respond.
"...I mean…kind of…" Hop-Pop sighed as she continued. "But dies that mean you aren't mad about the cane?" Hop-Pop laughed.
"Oh no, I'm furious about the cane! It was in the family for generations and you thought some stick would make me happy? You're on dish duty for a month and a half!"
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. And now, I have a list of comebacks for all those insults during lunch." He pulled out a paper and cleared his throat. "Hey, Sasha, is that your hair or a badly kept wheat field? Ha. Uh…Oh. Are those long, lanky limbs, or are those twigs? Ah-ha!" The room was quiet as Sprig coughed. Hop-Pop sighed. "The moment's gone, isn't it?"
That night, somewhere not too far away…
The tower was dark, dank, and dripping. The floor was uneven and difficult to walk across unless you had the proper footwear, which most of the denizens of Toad Tower did not. In addition to the sharp rocks that almost pierced through most soldiers' feet, they usually had to stand in place for hours at a time. This treatment was issued and defended by the tower's captain. He was currently making his way to a very specific cell on the north face, clutching something in his hand. His yellow eye darted back and forth as he walked through the humid hallway. A few drops from the limestone ceiling hit his cape. It didn't matter to him. He was focused on this one goal. He eventually reached one of the highest cells of the tower and cleared his throat.
"Look what we just found, creature." He takes the object, a bright yellow shoe and chucks it in. "You were correct in assuming others came with you. We'll find them soon enough. Maybe they can join you in that cell of yours." Lightning flashed through the barred window on the other side of the cell, showing the furious face of Luz Noceda before the light faded away.
I'm actually surprised how quickly I finished this chapter compared to the one before. This one has probably five more pages of writing and it took half as long. I am quite proud of myself for that. I would've finished on New Year's Eve, but celebrations and everything hindered my ability to do so. Also, Happy New Years! We survived 2023! Let's hope it's the same for 2024.
I should also mention that The Frog Knight was not an original idea of mine. It was used with permission from ChampionElCid as the same play appeared in his story. I'm mostly borrowing the name since I couldn't think of anything at the moment; the story will (hopefully) be original. Anyway, thanks for reading! Thirteen-Seven out. Later.