Sprig's eyes snap open. He leans up on his bed and stretches his arms out above him. He breathes in a long yawn before pulling his legs over the side of the bed. He walks over to his desk and peers up at the window above.
The sky was painted over in the familiar light blue tent of dawn. Birds were chirping their early morning tunes and the sun had just barely risen to meet the world. Sprig was up early and for the past week, he had been getting up earlier. Even before the moon had a chance to disappear sometimes.
The young teen was feeling much better about himself. The overwhelming weight of the world had fallen off his shoulders and back into obscurity where it originated. Sprig couldn't take on the credit for his happier mood. He couldn't have gotten through any of it without a few helping hands. To think he would try to bury his feelings deep inside and ignore them even when they had been building up to the point of overflowing.
If it weren't for his family, friends, and Olivia, who had decided to stay at their house for the week, he wouldn't have gotten through. Sprig was especially grateful to the newt queen for sticking by him. It meant he had to take up residency in the basement, but he didn't mind giving his room up for her comfort.
He takes his close that hung over the back of his desk chair. The boy didn't tend to sleep in them as often as he used to. Just because he was eager to start the day quickly didn't mean he had to rush himself.
Sprig throws on his pants first, followed by his shirt, jacket, hat, and goggles over that. He adjusted the hat on top of his head, reaching a hand up to pull a bit of his blonde hair out to sit above his eyes. The young teenager twists and turns his neck around, stretching it out before looking back at his bed. There was still one more thing he needed to complete his outfit.
He walks back over to the mattresses, reaches under the pillow, and pulls out the small device. He clicks the little button on the side and smiles when the photo of him and Anne flashes on the screen. He missed her and he wouldn't forget her, but he wouldn't allow her to weigh on his mind anymore. She'd want him to start looking forward instead of constantly looking back.
He held the phone to his chest and then slid it into his pocket. The young teen let a single tear roll down his face and let out a happy giggle. If only she could see him now.
He wipes the tear from his cheek and makes his way upstairs. He could smell the scent of his grandmother's cooking for miles and was all too eager to see what it was she was preparing this time around.
Sprig looks into the kitchen before setting foot inside. It hadn't been too crowded, just his grandmother Sylvia, his sister Polly, and a tall tom-boyish newt with short blonde hair who had been conversing with her.
"Woah!" Polly gasped a bit too excitedly when the newt sharply extended two blades from the gauntlet over her hand. "Man Yunan, where'd you even get that thing." She asked. Yunan had sailed in a few days ago and was staying with the Planters along with Olivia.
The former general flashes a toothy grin at the young girl. "My mother made them for me. She's one of the best black smites in all of Amphibia." Yunan says, retracting her arm blades. "If you think I'm something you should meet her. She was a top-ranking gladiator back in the day. I get the feeling you'd love her Polly."
"Damn girl! Hook a lily up!" Polly shouts at the top of her lungs.
"Language girl." Hop Pop shushes Polly as he enters the room. "Besides you don't need a weapon so curl and jagged."
She scoffs at the man. "Yeah, right Hop Pop. Just think of all the good it would do the farm." She jumps up and starts to mimic punches from her make-believe gauntlet. "A bandit comes through, Pow!" She punches the air. "He's dead. His buddy comes looking for revenge, slash!" She brings her fist back. "He's dealt with too. If the herons ever get out of line, there'll be more than just missing eyes." She sat back down, popping her elbow down on the table with a thud.
"Ummhmm." Hop pop hums and nods to the girl. "A perfect example of why you shouldn't be havin' one."
"Oh, come now Hop pop." Sylvia steps over to the table with a few plates along her arms. "She's grown now. Why not let her have one?" She places the plates down on the table. For the ones that were already there and the two who were yet to show up.
"Sylvia..." The old man groans.
Sprig thinks now is the perfect time to make his appearance. "I say you should let her. Today is kinda special after all." The teen says as he finds a seat at the already dense table. "How could you refuse?"
"What!" Hop Pop huffs as most of the room begins to chuckle at him. "So, you're all just against me today huh?" He folds his arms and sighs. "Fine... I will consider it. But that's all Polly." He shoots a glare at the giggling girl.
"I say go for it..." Olivia entered the kitchen with a yawn and eyes that weren't quite ready to open. "Sylvia, could I possibly bother for a coffee? It feels like Kryptos knocking at my door." She says past another deep drawn-out yawn.
"No problem hon. What about you Sprig?" She turns to her grandson. "You need anything extra special?" She asks as she prepares Olivia's drink.
"I'm good. Have to get going out to town soon. Grime said he'd have something for me and I'm picking it up so I'm trying to keep it light." He ate a few bits of his breakfast before standing up again. "Amazing as always though, Grandma."
"Going out to town huh? That's good, that's good..." Olivia spoke through her drowsy tone and paved a weak smile over her lips. "But if you stop by her statue, remember..."
"Deep breaths and happy thoughts, I know..." He looks back at her and the rest of his family. "Thank you." He walks out of the kitchen.
"So, Olivia." Yunan smiles at her sleepy wife. "Long night huh?" Yunan teases at the tired newt across from her.
"Oh ha-ha." She let out a mock chuckle. "You know it was."
"Trust me the whole house knows." Polly leans on the table and cocks her eyebrows up and down rapidly at the two women.
"Polly!" The whole house erupts in appalled shock.
Sprig steps out of the house, closing the front door behind him. He stops for a moment to take in the sun that had just come out. It was warm and bright along with everything else around him. The sky was bright blue as white clouds drifted along their predestined courses. He could feel the grass beneath his feet and the wind blowing gently against his moist skin.
For the longest time, his days were slowly starting to lose their color. For him, everything just seemed gray, devoid of life and meaning. To see everything return to its vivid luster was almost too surreal for him. Even the sun appeared a little brighter to him.
He looks down a road leading off the farm. He could walk to town, he wouldn't mind too much, he's done it plenty of times. Though he had to meet Grime soon and a serene walk wasn't worth keeping a friend waiting. He could ask Hop Pop for a ride, but he didn't want to bug him or any other member of his family that early. It looks like he'd be taking the long trek into town. If he left now, the toad likely wouldn't mind the two hours it was going to take Sprig to get there.
As he began walking, he could hear the door to his house open and close, followed by rapid footsteps approaching him.
"Hold up Sprig." He turns to see Yunan. Though she had already caught up to him by the time he looked over to her. "I'm coming with."
"Yeah?" Sprig chuckles. "What? House getting a bit stuffy?" The young teen asked, and the woman responded with a series of unsure shrugs and embarrassed nods. "Ohhh..." Sprig understood. "Polly's being annoying again?"
"You could say that."
Sprig shakes his head. It was just like his sister to run off even the most battle-hardened person they knew. "Come on." He motions to her with a nod. He could use the company, and someone to keep him grounded in reality, anyway.
They continue down the path. Sprig runs his finger along a long run-down fence until it comes to an end. He always liked taking this walk and admiring the land his family built. He always thought it was so amazing that his great-grandmother could take an old backwater swamp and turn it into a nice, cozy little hamlet like Wartwood.
He hopes it never changes.
"So..." Yunan starts. "Grime's giving you a gift huh?" She looks down at the smaller boy. "What is it? Knowing that toad, it's probably something sharp."
Sprig chuckles. "Yeah, you're telling me. He said it was a gift for the trip, A memento he commissioned a week ago, and that it was a huge surprise."
"Ah yes, the trip. We leave tomorrow afternoon." The newt reminds him of their time of departure. As if he could forget. "Are you nervous? It's going to be so far away, and we'll definitely be there for some time."
Sprig tilts his head to the side. He thinks about what she says for a moment. "You know, I was nervous before. The thought of leaving my family and everything else behind was a lot to take in, but then I remembered that no matter where I go, the ones I love will always be close by. Olivia taught me that."
"Yeah... Olivia." Yunan chuckles and smiles. "She's kind of amazing."
Sprig looks up at the battled-hardened newt. Was that all she really had to say? "You know, you should give your wife more credit."
"Y-Yeah... yeah, I should..." Yunan hums with a hand to her chin. The woman always got a bit awkward when the subject of her wife was brought up. Sprig can only guess that it had to do with her love for the queen. Yunan was always the strong type, so to have someone in her life who could bring the softer side out of her hardened shell would make her feel a bit uncomfortable. It would make anyone like her uncomfortable.
The pair step into town. Sprig didn't even really notice when they did. The walk had flown past him faster than he first suspected it would. When he pulls out his phone to check the time, he sees that the walk still took them two hours. He just didn't feel the time flow this time around.
He opted to go straight toward the blacksmiths. Knowing Grime, he was likely getting annoyed and may or may not have been taking it out on poor Loggle.
Sprig sees that his speculations are correct when he and Yunan arrive to find Grime holding the poor axolotl up by his smithing tunic. He was indeed frustrated but not for the reason the young teen thought he would be.
"I told you to have it done before this afternoon. Now here it is before the afternoon, and you tell me it still isn't finished?" The scared toad growls the smaller man. "Either you're telling the funniest joke and I'm just not getting it, or you're actively trying to make me angry." He pulls Loggle in closer. "So, which is it?"
"N-no Grime. I-I was working on it, honest. I just got a bit backed up is all." The man stammers, tripping over his words as he's lifted further off the ground into the air. "I-I can work on it now, promise."
Grime's eyes wander back and forth across the ground with consideration. "Okay." He takes in a deep breath and then empties his lunges with one heavy huff. "This gift is for a special little boy. I'd advise you don't keep him waiting." Loggle violently bobs his head in agreement and scurries back into his shop. "Oh, hey Sprig." His grim attitude takes a sharp turn into pleasant surprise once he sees the young teen approach. "And Yunan..." He frowns slightly at the newt. "A pleasure all the same."
"Yeah..." Sprig says, looking past the toad. "What was that all about? I thought you didn't get angry anymore?"
"Well, I only ever do on behalf of good friends." Grime gives the boy's question an uneasy sigh. "Oh, you know Logger. I had commissioned this gift a week ago and it still isn't finished. He kept going on and on about preparing Hop Pop's wedding." Grime quiets down. "Now, I kinda feel bad about threatening him actually."
"Grime, you fly brain." Yunan takes the opportunity to laugh at the flustered toad. "You ever think of talking to people instead of pulling out that dull sword of yours?"
"Oh, you're one to talk. I hear the natives overseas could say the same about you." He smirks at the newt.
"Wha- how did you-"
"News travels fast, sister." He said, checking and picking at his nails with the kind of odd sassy spunk Sprig would associate with Sasha.
"They attacked us first..." Yunan growls through gritted teeth, lunging at and coming face to face with the scared toad. They stare one another down with the intensity of two angry pry mantises. "I have half a mind to-"
"Oh, half a mind is right." Grime sneers as he continues to rile the women up. Both he and Yunan further press their foreheads up against each other. They both hadn't had a good fight in a while, and they were ready to take out that frustration on one and other.
"Guys, Guys!" They both bring their eyes around to the boy. "Maybe we shouldn't kill each other. At least not today." A nervous giggle leaves his cheeky smile.
The two received from each other. "Right, right." They pat themselves down, correcting their postures and fixing themselves through the sound of clearing throats and groans. "Besides no matter what you might have heard, we are working hard to open up communications with the natives."
"Hmmm." Grime bobs his head curiously. "Who do you have on that little endeavor anyway?"
"Braddock and Percy." Grime looks at her for a quick second. The look on his face was strange like his mind had been deciding what emotion would best suit the information he had just received. He would land on hysterical laughter. "W-what? What's wrong?"
"Ha- oh nothing, nothing." The toad wipes a tear away from his scared eye. "That'll probably work out for you?" He questions more than reassures. His laughter continues to echo, causing a blush to fill the tall woman's face with embarrassment.
"Come on Grime, that's enough." Sprigs soft pleads get the toad's uncontrolled chuckling to stop.
"Fine." Grime relents. "I'll spare her the shame if only for you, Sprig." He steps away from her and leans up against the wall of Toggle's establishment. "You can wait here with me if you want. Knowing old Leopold however, it's going to be a long while." As Grime speaks the door re-opens with the blacksmith rushing out.
"Here ya go. If there's any qualms just bring it on by tomorrow." The man shoves something into Grime's arms and takes off quickly.
"Wait." Grime turns in the smith's direction. "He won't be here tomorrow!" He tries calling after Loggle to no avail. He sighs to himself before spinning back around to Sprig and Yunan. "Well, if it doesn't turn out good, I guess I could always come back and beat the refund out of him." He mumbled to himself. "Here you go Sprig." The toad hands over the item. Being that it was wrapped up in a thick blanket, the young teen was having a hard time figuring out what it was exactly.
"What is this?" He looks to Grime and the man motions for him to unwrap the item. He does so, untangling his gift slowly until his eyes catch a sliver of blue, followed by a hilt and a sheath and even a shoulder strip attached.
It was a sword, bright blue from top to bottom. He pulls the rest of the sword out of the blanket and frees the blade from its blue holster. It was coated in blue steel; the hilt was soft to the touch and the guard had a name inscribed on it. Her name. Anne.
He was speechless, his heart nearly stopping in his chest as his eyes traced up and down the sword. "Grime." A smile paves its way across his lips. He didn't know what to say.
"I know, I know." Grime waves off any complement that might have come. "I just figured you'd need some protection while you were over there. Gods know you'll need it." He said, fighting back tears with more laughter.
Sprig still has no words. He knew nothing he'd say would be enough. So instead, he would go in for a hug, throwing his arms over the toad's wide shoulders.
"Wow." Yunan smirks. "Good on you Grime."
"Yeah, yeah." He returns a half hug to the frog, lightly rubbing his back until Sprig steps out of the embrace and re-sheaths his new sword. "So, what are you gonna name it. I say we call it Queen Anne's revenge?" Grime growls out the name with a raised fist.
"What?" Yunan objects. "That is the lamest name I think I've ever heard." She heckles his suggestion. "We should call it, Saint Anne's scorn." She hissed, waving a hand across the air before her.
Grime tilts his head. "Oh, what does that even mean?"
"It's... more of a general thing... It's supposed to be up to interpretation." Yunan blushes and folds her arms. "I think it's a wonderful name. What about you Sprig?"
They look to him, waiting for an answer and hoping that it would be either one of theirs. Sprig looks at the sword. He thinks he has the perfect name in mind.
"Well, I don't think she'd really care for Saint Anne's scorn." Yunan pouts and Grime gives the boy a quick thumbs up. "And Queen Anne's revenge remains of a dream I had." He chuckles, recalling the pirate-themed dream in his mind. "I don't like it either." Grime's smile falls from his face and turns into another pout. "I think I'm going to call it... Anne's memory." He runs his fingers along the sword's blue sheath. It was perfect.
"Yeah, sure good enough." Yunan shrugged.
"I would have called it Queen Anne's revenge," Grime mutters.
It was perfect for Sprig at least.
"Hmm," Yunan begins. "Well since we're in town I might as well go pick up a gift for the wedding." She said, rushing off in search of a store that might hold something of value.
"Ha! You didn't even get a gift for the wedding..." Grime points and laughs at the newt at first until a bit of reality hits him swiftly. "Wait, neither did I..." He grumbles. "Yunan wait up! I'll be right back Sprig. It'll take but a moment."
He runs off with the women, the two complaining to and at each other as they look for a store. Sprig snickers. He wishes those two would go easy on each other. Even after four years they still harbor some bitterness toward one another.
He thinks maybe that was how the two showed they cared, through the many jokes, insults, and one-ups. If that were the case, Sprig wouldn't mind their arguments so much.
With nothing left to do at the blacksmiths, the young teen walks off into town. There was still a lot of time to kill before the wedding, so he figured he'd pay a visit to Maddie next.
The aspiring witch had been another person helping Sprig across the week. She had also been helping him mend his relationship with Ivy, something he knew had to be done, sooner rather than later.
He walks with his newly attained sword flung over his shoulder when a certain sound catches his attention. The scratching of an accordion and hastily improvised lyrics to go along with scratchy vocals. There was no mistaking it.
"Wally." Sprig said, walking up to the marry, one-eyed frog.
"Oh, ello Sprig." The screeching of Wally's accordion is put on hold as his singing comes to a brief stop. He smiles and then reluctantly frowns at the boy. "Ey, err... sorry about that night at the tavern. I didn't mean for you to get in trouble 'er anything."
Sprig waves at him. "Don't sweat it. I was the one who went along with it." Sprig tells him and he bobs his head along, though the teenager could see that he still felt bad even then. "But if you really feel sorry, you can just make it up to me later."
"Y-yeah." Wally looks up to him and nods as his smile returns. "So, where you headin' today?" He asked, slightly shifting the instrument in his hands. "Gonna visit Anne's statue right now?"
"Nah, just visiting Maddie right now." Sprig said.
"Maddie huh? Creepy witch girl?" Wally hums along to the sound of his accordion. "Alright, I'm in." He collapses the instrument and places it in the inner pocket of his vest. Sprig didn't mind the one-eyed frog tagging along. The more company he had the merrier.
The pair make their way across town, coming up to the marketplace and immediately stalking over to Maddie's homebrew potion stand. The girl had just finished wrapping up with a customer and shone a lively smile as Sprig walked up next in line.
"Hey, Sprig." The joy in her raspy tone sends a shockwave of warmth through his body. He saw her every day, yet he still found himself a bit overjoyed with every greeting. As creepy as she could be, Sprig liked being around her. "Everything good?"
"Hey, Maddie." He leans an arm over the countertop of her stand. "That's actually what I wanted to talk about. If you have the time."
She looks past him, bringing her eyes around to scan for any customers. "Yeah, sure." She throws a sign over the stand that reads closed and walks around to the front. Her quick thinking gives them some extra time just in case someone shows up out of the blue. "What's on your mind?"
"Right..." He steps next to her, letting his sword rest against the potion shop. "Remember those dreams I was telling you about? I don't think I ever explained what they were, right?" She nods at him. Sprig had told the girl about his dreams, though he never went into detail on what they were about. "Well, the dreams. All of them, every day for the past several weeks was about me and Anne."
Maddie's mouth hung slightly ajar. "Every day?" She questioned.
"Yeah. They were all specific, played out one after the other, and always picked up from where they last left off. In all these dreams, every time I saw her, I can remember seeing her in some way in the real world. My mind was able to put it all together because that's how I remember her. But there was one I had, only once, and in it, she looked like I'd never seen her before. She was older and she was..." Sprig's breathing wavers under the weight of the memory. Her image was branded into his mind and stuck to him endlessly. "It didn't even feel like a dream. Not like the others. It felt more like an experience. Like everything was actually happening."
Maddie scratches at her chin as she hums out in wonder. "Gift from the gods?" She shrugged at him. "Who's to say all your dreams weren't." She continued, wrapping his experience up with a nice little summary with a sort of bitter-sweet comfort tacked on.
Sprig smirks and snickers at the young witch. "Maybe..." He pulls out his phone and nearly jumps at the time. "Oh, hey Maddie, I have to go. I gotta make another stop somewhere." He said, slinging the sword over his shoulder and running off.
"So, Maddie," Wally spoke leaning on the counter next. "I had fallen in this puddle awhile back and now I have a curious rash sproutin." He ran a finger along the countertop. "Wouldn't by any chance happen to have a remedy from my aching rear, would you?"
Maddie looks at him with a blank expression. "Give me a sec."
Sprig ran through the town as fast as he could. He breezes past occupied or preoccupied villagers, rushing through the streets and past her statue with a quick glance. He thinks it isn't the right time to stop by her yet. He goes until he nears the edge of town and continues past that point and into the outskirts.
He was out there most days, planting seeds over bits of scard land that were caused by his actions. He never had to do it, everyone had long since forgiven him, but he still saw it as penance he needed to pay. Over four years later the man was still at it.
Sprig would visit him often, though lately, he'd yet to get around to it. That is until now. Like always the old king was there, planting seeds for new life to spring. It never mattered what the weather was or if he had been tired.
"Andrias." Sprig calls out, walking up to the tall man.
"Huh?" He looks up from the seed he was in the middle of planting and around to the boy. "Oh- ha, Sprig!" The former king bellows a hardy chuckle as he proceeds to plant the seed. "In here I thought you didn't want anything to do with me." He slowly rose from his knelt position and stood tall above the smaller frog boy.
Despite the title he used to hold, his appearance now was a far cry from who he used to be. The rags he wore were tattered and hardly suitable for the common frog. His skin had withered and grayed in his old age and even his eyes looked like they were starting to go. He kept a large hammer chain around himself as well, a remembrance of the past. A constant reminder of who he never wanted to be again.
"Nah, I would never." Sprig chuckles at him. "I was going through some stuff is all. I didn't mean to not get around to you... you know." Sprig explained as the man reached into his pouch for another seed.
"Hmmm... what about?" Andrias asked digging a hole in the dirt. Not too deep and not too shallow.
"Well, a-... Umm..." Sprig stammers a bit. He isn't sure why, but he starts to stall as his stomach tumbles and turns. "It was..."
"About Anne." Andrias helps the boy along in his admission. "I assume of course."
Sprig looks at the newt oddly when his mind settles. "Yeah..." He said. "How did you..."
Andrias just chuckled, kneeling down to dig a small hole in the dirt. "When you get to be as old as me, these things become rudimentary... and I know you two were close." He drops the seed down into the dug-up hole and covers it up immediately after. "So, what exactly?"
"Right." Sprig takes in a calming breath, sending it back out the way it originally came. "For the past month, I've been dreaming about her. I've been missing her more than I usually did and at first I couldn't understand why." The young teen spoke as Andrias dug up another hole. "Then I realized something. This whole time, for four whole years, I thought I was holding it together. I was staying strong because that's what I thought she would have wanted, but I was wrong. Keeping everything just made things worse, it was to the point where I didn't want to say her name. I was too afraid to even think of her name. I didn't want to accept that she was really gone, and I couldn't, until everything I was feeling hit me like a landslide."
Sprig huffs out, his eyes a sodden mess and each breath sporadic. He had given everything he had these past few days, expelled every last drop of sorrow into a bucket, and tossed it out the window of his mind. Sometimes it all left him overwhelmed but not in a bad way.
Andrias hums, planting yet another seed in the ground. "When your great-grandmother left me behind, all I could think about was how shocking it had been. After all those years of being together, to up and leave me behind... I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. Here one day and gone the next." He shook his head with a snicker. "The thought made me so angry and as the days went by, I only got angrier. At her, at everyone around me..., at myself, for allowing her into my heart. I would even start to pry and beg the cosmos to return her to me when looking just wasn't enough and I went on like that until I began to blame myself for her." He clutches a seed in his fist. "And then I gave up, on everything, even life itself... I was at the end of my rope. Until you, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy came along." He drops the seed down into the hole. "Then I found My peace." He covers the hole with the dug-up dirt. "Don't close yourself off Sprig. Trust me, I know what that kind of thinking can do to you."
"Yeah." Sprig chuckles as he runs his hands over his eyes. "She sure was something else huh?"
"That she was." Andrias nods creating another hole for a seed to take root in.
The young teen sighs once his face is wiped clean. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the device he carried always. "Oh, I have to go. Thanks for talking with me." He begins to walk, turning on his hills and back around to Andrias. "And sorry for not visiting sooner."
"No problem." He waves at the boy. "Good luck on your trip! And try not to be a stranger once you've returned!" He calls at Sprig as the young teen marches off, waving at the tall newt as he goes. Andrias looks back down at the hole he had made. "She would have loved this."
Sprig stops in his tracks. He reaches his final stop for the day. She was still there like she'd always been. The young teen stood in front of the statue and peered up at his guardian angel with a relieved smile.
Wartwood's hero and their one and only claim to fame. She held a sword up in one hand and kept a box tucked into her other arm. She stood at the ready, day in and day out to defend the town, its people, and her family.
"Hey." He Spoke. "It's been a while... maybe a bit too long." He said with a smile. "So, a lot's been happening with me. A bunch of things I thought I had gotten out of my system a long time ago and a ton of things I thought I could control. Olivia's been helping me out a lot with it. I never realized how much I was hiding away from the world." He stops to think about the dreams. "You know me, and Ivy went through a little rough patch? We're working out now, Maddie's helping. Though I'm sure if you were here, you would slap me on the back of the head for making her sad. I also had a bit of a drinking problem for a while." Sprig wince at the statue. Though she wasn't there some part of his mind was anticipating a hit anyway. "Probably another thing you would have been mad about." He laughs then goes silent.
"Oh, did you know Hop Pop and Sylvia are tying the knot?" He chuckles to himself. "But I guess I already told you that huh...?" He goes quiet for a bit longer. "I'm also going away for a while, the trips tomorrow and... that's what I wanted to come talk to you about... It might be a long time before I see you again." Sprig takes out her phone, clicking the button on the side as the screen flashes to life with a background image of him and her, as happy as can be. "I was going to take it with me but..." He walks over to the base of the statue. "I think I need to be without it for a little. Just until I've done enough growing. Besides you could use the entertainment." A tear drops bubble up and rolls down his face, drip-dropping to the base of the stone statue. He runs his fingers along the caption at the bottom he was too afraid to look at before. 'We miss you, girl.' Truer words had never been written. He stood up and stepped back. "I'll see you later Anne."
"Sprig." He turns to see Ivy, skipping up to him with a small smirk on her lips. Beside her was Maddie and Wally. They're also joined by Grime and Yunan, the two now carrying gifts and arguing about who had the better one. When Ivy reaches him, Sprig wraps his arms around her waist and pulls the girl into an embrace. "You ready to get to this wedding or what?"
He chuckles. "Sure, but it might be a long walk."
"No worries," Toadie said riding up on a beetle-drawn wagon with Felicia by his side. "I'll give you all a ride."
"Just be careful climbing in the back. The cakes back there." Felicia warns the group before they hurry to their seats in the wagon.
They groan out "Okeys" and "sures" as they begin to climb into the wagon one by one. Sprig holds a handout for Ivy, helping the girl into the large cart. Though normally she wouldn't need the assistance, she'd accepted on this occasion.
The wedding was as perfect as perfect could be when dealing with his family. Hop Pop stood at one end of the podium with his best men, Toadie, Grime, and Toadstool while Slyvia took her place on the other with her bridesmaids, Olivia, Yunan, and Polly.
It was all being held in their family pound, where the most important events relating to their family would be. Rows of benches were displayed on either end of the path leading up to the podium Guests from all over Amphibia had come just to witness the marriage for themselves. Even Francios, a boy whom he had mixed feelings about, would show up with his acting trope in tow. Sprig had no idea they were so popular.
It's only when his grandparents share a kiss that would seal their bond forever that Sprig knows everything goes off without a hitch and a mixture of emotions is thrown around the crowded pond. Some cheers, some applause, and even more tears are shed.
The reception after the wedding was a little less organized, but still a good time in his opinion. Wally and Polly had gotten into the wedding cake a little earlier than intended. Grime and Yunan would continuously try to sabotage each other's wedding presents in their latest campaign to one-up each other. And former mayor Toadstool does his best to talk up some of the more important guests, either for personal gain or otherwise.
Besides those small caveats, he along with everyone there has a great time. The was laughter, stories of good and bad times, and most importantly music. Sprig shared a romantic dance with Ivy, a platonic dance with Olivia, and was even able to give a speech to the recently wed couple. He and Francios had a long chat about nothing in particular, mostly about life and what they were currently up to. Despite how they first met, the other teen had been one of Sprig's very best friends in the following years.
The reception would continue into the night until the guests were all but burnt out and ready to leave with many final farewells.
That night when Sprig lies his head down on his pillow his eyes don't close immediately, instead tracing along the ceiling of the basement as his mind falls into deep thought. He thinks of the past, who he used to be, who he is now in the present, who he hoped to become, and what he wanted to accomplish as the future sat on the horizon.
He gives one last thought to Anne and his eyes flutter close and suddenly he's surrounded by darkness. When his eyes opened again, they were met with a different sight.
He was out on the farm, sitting on the ground overlooking the land beyond with a book opened in his lap. It was night from what he could tell by the tiny bright lights that polka dot the vast dark sky.
The boy was having another dream, no not a dream more so a recollection. A call back to an old memory he never thought he'd get to experience ever again.
He could feel himself leaning up against something, a stone wall and something warmer just out of sight. He brings his head back to see her, her wild hair and brown skin as her soft eyes dart along the words written in her own book.
They were pulling another all-nighter and as usual, Sprig could feel himself on the brink of passing out that night.
"Well, that was lame," Anne said shutting the book she was reading. "After all that suffering, he decided to try and go on without the girl?" Anne chuckles down at him. "After all that about not being able to live without her."
"I always thought it was a sweet story." He said, gazing back up at her, though she could only really shrug at his opinion. "Hey, Anne." She looks at him with a smirk still on her lips. "What would you do? If I were gone, I mean?"
The knowing smirk she was wearing fades and her eyes narrow. "Hmm... I actually don't know Sprig." She wraps an arm around his little shoulder. "You're my everything dude." He smiles up at her. Even if this was the last time, he would ever get to see the girl, he was happy to just have her. He was happy to have had her at all.
Anne's eyes flutter opens slowly to a small ceiling fan buzzing overhead. She was back in her apartment, lying in her now messy bed. She thinks her body might have been twisting up a storm the previous night.
She groans at the dream she had just awoken from. She called it a dream, but it was more like a memory to her. It felt too real, almost like a blessing given to her after so many of her other prayers went unanswered. Her mind sat on it until it eventually drifted off to the other dreams, she'd had of them that had long since concluded years ago.
He and her as bandits, partners in crime. Them as high schoolers of all things. Them as snooty aristocrats and pirates sealing the high seas. She chuckles at that one, though she probably would never threaten to harm him in any way like her dream self would. Her favorite out of all the dreams though, was the ones where it was him and her, alone on the farm under the night sky. It's been such a long time since she dreamt about him.
However, there was one dream she'd had a few years back that the woman found strange. Unlike the others that were reoccurring and always continued from where they last left off, this one only occurred once.
She was at the job she was working at now checking on one of the terrariums. She was alone but at the time it never occurred to her how strange that was. Besides the many creatures on display, she was the only one there working day in and out. When she heard the tale-tale sound of a portal opening behind her she knew she wouldn't be alone anymore.
She turned her head slightly and was overwhelmed at the sight of him. The boy appeared like she'd never seen him before. He looked slightly older, with his hair sitting just above his eyes. When he called her name, her heart nearly stopped, and then in a flash of red, green, and blue, he was gone again. That dream has never come back around for her. Though some days she wished it did.
Anne missed him every day and even now she swears they were still attached in some way. With every passing moment, she could feel him, his joy, his anger, his fear, his disgust, and even his sadness. Nowadays he was happier than anything. It might have all been in her head, though she likes to think the feeling was something more than wishful thinking.
"Good." She whispers, turning to a framed photo of him and her. Something she had taken when he and his family were staying with her parents. It was strange to think ten years had gone by without him, he would be twenty-one by now.
She smirks and reaches a handout to run her finger over the framed photo. "Don't be sad on my account, Sprig." She might not be able to see him again, but she will always hold him close to her heart. As long as he was truly happy, she would be too.