Luz was digging a hole again.
She struggled to get the shovel out, her hands trembling with the strain. She tried to ignore the stinging in her eyes.
She was under the same dead tree, its branches making distorted shadows on the ground from Amphibia's red moon circling the hole she was digging.
Too many thoughts ran through her head, she felt the quiet atmosphere of the night suffocating.
She blinked, and the hole was filled with loose soil under which was the box. She dropped the shovel to the ground, breathing heavily and blinking rapidly, trying to stop the tears forming. She tried to steady her breathing, turning her gaze away from the buried box.
''Luz?" came a familiar voice behind her.
Luz flinched, a shiver running down her spine. Her stomach clenched into a ball, feeling like she was going to throw up.
''Luz, what are you doing?" she heard Anne step closer to her.
She could feel Anne's eyes piercing through her. She slowly turned around, managing to look Anne in the eyes. Anne looked at the loose soil then looked at the shovel before returning her gaze back to Luz. Disbelief was written across the bushy haired girl's face, her brow furrowing as if she didn't want to believe what she was seeing.
''Did you bury the box?" Anne's voice was filled with betrayal and pain, making Luz's stomach clench even more.
A lump formed in Luz's throat. ''Anne-'' her voice broke.
''You buried our only way home?'' tears streamed down Anne's face. ''Why Luz?" she asked blankly.
''No, it's not-'' Luz was cut off this time.
Anne's face twisted into one of anger. ''Don't you want us to go home!'' this time there was both anger and despair in her voice. ''Do you like it here so much that you want to stay forever? Are you having so much fun making me risk my life to gather ingredients for potions for you!?'' Anne stepped closer and closer to Luz.
Luz stepped back, wiping her tears with her sleeve. ''Anne no, please-'' she tripped over the shovel and fell backwards to the ground.
Anne looked down on her, towering over her. ''I don't want to be here! Do you have any idea of how much I went through?!" Anne's yell was raw and filled with hurt and anger. ''What kind of friend are you?!''
Luz jolted awake, breathing heavily and covered in cold sweat. She tried to calm herself, wiping the tears quickly from her face.
The same dream.
The same dream had haunted her all week.
It hadn't been so bad the first time, dreaming only of Anne finding she'd buried the box, but she'd managed to wake up before Anne could say anything. Only it got progressively worse, this one being the worst yet.
She cast a glance at the sleeping bag beside her. It was empty, which was unusual because Luz usually got up before Anne. She folded up her covers and fixed her 'bed' before going upstairs for breakfast.
Just as she came out of the basement she saw Hop Pop who was heading for the door with crates in his hands. Her brow furrowed.
''Good morning Hopadiah.'' said Luz in an unusually cold tone for her.
He jumped slightly but didn't knock the crates over. He visibly tried to keep his cool. ''Oh, I didn't see you there!" he tried to laugh it off. ''G'morning to you too Luz.'' he tried to smile warmly but Luz didn't respond with her usual smile. ''These are really heavy so I have to drop them off, tell the others I'll be right back.'' he hurried through the front door.
The kids had breakfast without Hop Pop, who had already eaten breakfast and was preparing everything they would need for the day. Once they were done, Hop Pop finally returned, carrying clothes in his arms.
"Morning kids! Did y'all finish with breakfast?" he asked.
Yep! Do we all have to come to the stand with you? I understand about Anne and Luz, but why should me and Polly come?" said Sprig trying to get away.
''We need more people if Luz and Anne are discovered. And who's going to sell at the stand when I'm not here anymore?" the old frog insisted. ''You two need to learn to give the best quality products to the customers!''
''And what are the clothes for?'' Anne gestured to the folded clothes the old frog was carrying in his hands.
''They're for you!''
''For us? What's wrong with our school uniforms?'' Anne crossed her arms.
''No one here wears clothes like yours! These will help you fit in better.'' Hop Pop rubbed his temples. ''And let's be honest, your clothes have been stitched and patched so many times that they barely look like what you came with anymore.''
''He's right.'' Luz shrugged. ''I won't refuse a wardrobe change.''
''I even managed to find you new shoes!'' Hop Pop placed the clothes on a chair and showed two pairs of brown boots.
Everyone glanced at Anne for a moment.
''Are you implying something?'' Anne raised an eyebrow.
''I don't know what you're talking about.'' Hop Pop shrugged. ''Okay, dress up and try to find some good disguises.'' he said before turning his attention to Sprig and Polly, explaining things about the stand to them again.
Luz went back down to the basement and saw the clothes she had. There was a canvas collared shirt with wide sleeves, brown worn pants with lots of pockets and places to hide small weapons, low equally worn boots in a darker brown and a cloak in a dark blue color. Luz also put on her potions belt because she refused to go anywhere without it and so she had something for self-defense she could use handy. In her pants pocket she found a cloth the same color as the cloak, which she decided to use as a mask to hide half her face.
She caught a glimpse of the protective goggles she used when she was making potions with Maddie. They had gilded frames and purple lenses through which you couldn't see from the outside. Luz also put on gloves just in case before climbing back up.
When she got upstairs, Anne was already ready and waiting for her on the couch with Sprig and Polly, Hop Pop still gone.
Anne was wearing a similar shirt with an old leather chestplate over it, and a black hooded cloak over her shoulders which had been patched several times. Her trousers were different only in that they didn't have as many pockets and were patched several times at the knees. She also wore gloves and a mask, but in a darker green color. Luz looked down at her shoes and exclaimed in disbelief after a brief moment of shock.
''Anne, are you serious?'' Luz made a gesture towards the shoes.
''What?'' Anne asked as if completely unaware of what Luz was talking about.
''The shoes... Anne, they gave you a full pair of shoes! This is pretty creative but isn't your shoe falling apart?''
Anne looked down at her shoes. ''Yes? I won't stop wearing the Converse until it falls apart. Do you know how much they cost? I'll wear them to the last!''
''Okay that's a valid excuse.'' nodded Luz. ''Where's Hopadiah?''
''He's already on the stand.'' said Sprig. ''He said to come when you're ready so he has time to prepare things.''
''Can't we just not go?" asked Anne.
''If you don't come Hop Pop will come back and get you.'' said Polly. ''We've tried before.''
''Wait, is there another pair of goggles like Luz's?'' asked Anne. ''I think I look suspicious just like that.''
Sprig took the goggles off his hat. ''You can have mine. Just keep them.'' he hesitated a moment before handing her the glasses.
''Take care!'' she took them in her hands and put them on. ''Thank you buddy!''
''Just be careful with them, they're very important to me.'' Sprig scratched behind his neck. ''Let's go, Hop Pop is probably waiting for us.''
The four walked out, and caught the path to the center of town where their shops and stand were. The path was unfamiliar to Anne, she had never been out in front of the farm during the day and this was well out of her comfort zone. From the quiet days at the farm or driving Bessie alone in the woods to the noisy town with lots of frogs this seemed like quite a jarring change and she couldn't help but feel nervous.
She glanced over at Luz, who was biting the inside of her cheek as she walked a little further back from the group. Anne had noticed that it was a habit she did when she was nervous.
''The nerves got to you too?'' Anne nudged her lightly with her elbow approaching her.
Luz was startled by the surprising contact but quickly recovered.''Yeah, a bit.'' she looked ahead at the approaching houses and frogs walking around. She looked like she wanted to turn around and run in the other direction. ''Everything will be fine though. I'm sure. It's time for the disguises!'' she tried to sound cheerful, pulling her glasses down over her eyes and lifting the mask and hood of her cloak to cover her nose and the other half of her face.
Anne did the same. ''Yes. Everything will be fine, we still have Maddie and Wally as insiders.''
Luz chuckled. ''How's the crazy frog gonna help us against a mob of probably armed frogs?
''Oh believe me, he is full of surprises! Don't underestimate him.''
They stopped talking, feeling the eyes of the town folk on them as they walked along the main road, Polly and Sprig greating some of the passerby. Anne knew they didn't take well to strangers, but was it necessary to look at them and whisper among themselves like that?
She managed to see Wally by a frog stand that sold pottery. The frog was gluing a broken pottery vase while a frog bigger than him scowled at him from behind the stand. Wally smiled encouragingly at them and waved. The frog behind the stand slammed his fist into the wooden countertop, causing Wally to jump and quickly return to the vase he was molding.
Anne chuckled and turned back to the road ahead of her. Soon, they arrived at the Plantars family stand. There was a sign with a gilded ''P'' for Planter. Hop Pop had already arranged crates of vegetables on display and was currently serving a rather old-looking pale purple frog. She had picked out a gangly gourd she wanted to buy, but Hop Pop stopped her
''Hmm. Hang on there, Sadie. You don't want that one.'' he walked up to her from behind the stand and took the vegetable, knocking with his fist a few times on it, before splitting it in two. ''A-ha! It's a guord maggot! These guys taste terrible!'' he exclaimed. In place of the vegetable's seeds was a huge worm that quickly crawled and climbed on Anne, who shrieked and started panicking, trying to remove it without her disguise falling off.
Hop Pop picked up another gangly gourd and handed it to Sadie. ''Here, take this one instead, its maggot free.''
Anne was still struggling to remove the worm from her hair, Luz and Sprig were desperately trying to help her while Polly was laughing hysterically. Her hood fell down and the worm crawled out of her hair and ran off somewhere.
''Classic Plantar honesty.'' said Sadie. ''I've been buying from your stand since your father was running it!" she exclaimed.
Luz had to physically stop herself from scoffing at the ''honesty'' part.
Sadie squinted her eyes seeing the unfamiliar tall forms. ''Hopadiah, are my eyes deceiving me? Who are these two tall amphibians with your grandkids?''
''Your eyes aren't lying to you Ms. Croaker!'' Sprig answered instead of Hop Pop. ''These are Anne and Luz. Their village was burned down because the citizens didn't have the money to pay the taxes, but they managed to escape.''
''They saved Sprig's life, so I decided to repay them by bringing them back home.'' said Hop Pop. ''They haven't sold out to me before because I know how the town usually treats strangers, and they already had enough things to worry about, but I promise they're good kids. They've done things that have made me proud.''
''Hmm, I trust you Hopadiah, but it's definitely going to take me a little while to get used to them.'' Sadie gave an approving nod to Luz and Anne. ''But why are they so masked? Or am I just seeing things wrong.''
''Again, your eyes aren't deceiving you Sadie. Both of them are some sort of olm hybrid. I don't think they'll reach the size of a real olm, and I think they can see as well as any frog or newt, but their skin is still very sensitive to light.'' Hop Pop explained.
Sadie poked Anne's leg with her cane. ''Well you sure are interesting. You'll still have to earn my and the towns trust.'' she said in a suspicious tone before saying goodbye to Hop Pop and walking away.
''I don't think she really likes us.'' Anne said as she watched the frog walk away.
''Old Croaker is like that. She doesn't even like ME! How could she not like ME?'' Sprig flapped his arms in the air frantically.
Polly sighed. ''Please don't start with this again...''
''Enough about that. Anne, Luz, come let me show you how to choose quality vegetables for the customers.'' Hop Pop urged them behind the counter.
He explained to them how to figure out which were the best vegetables for customers according to what they wanted to do with them. He showed them how to check them for the parasites inside them as he served the passing frogs. Of course, he made them remember how they could calculate the best and fairest price according to the product. Sprig and Polly took advantage of Hop Pop being distracted and ran off somewhere between the stands, looking for something to spend the few coppers they had.
''Alright, I think you should have it all figured out by now. Will you be able to handle the next few customers while I look for Sprig and Polly?" asked Hop Pop.
Anne and Luz looked at each other, Luz shaking her head anxiously. ''Uh yeah! Of course!" Anne shot finger guns. She could feel Luz piercing her with a grave look even if she couldn't see her face.
''Great! I'll be back in a bit!" with that Hop Pop ran off, leaving them alone on the stand.
''Anne! I didn't remember almost anything! Why did you agree?'' Luz whisper-yelled making wild gestures with her hands. ''And what will the town folk think when they see two unknown creatures in his place!''
''Didn't you see what Hop Pop said to that old lady? We've made him proud of us! We need Luz to make him proud again.'' Anne took Luz's hand in hers. ''I think the word about us has already spread, it won't be so unexpected for the customers. Maybe.''
''Alright, we have no other choice anymore without this.'' Luz looked at her hand held, by Anne who immediately let go of it.
They saw Wally walking around the stands, counting a few copper coins. He saw their stand and immediately came over. They breathed a sigh of relief that their first customer would be someone they were on friendly terms with.
''Hello again, how's it going? Oooh you're already selling yourself? How many coppers have you earned so far?" he immediately greeted them in a friendly manner.
''Actually you're our first customer.'' said Anne. ''What would you like?''
''Oh, this is a great honor!'' exclaimed Wally. He counted his coppers again before looking around at the vegetables they were selling. ''Hmm, I'll take this gangly gourd.'' he chose his vegetable.
''Great! Quite a lot of frogs are picking from these.'' noticed Luz.
''That's because they're a good price and you can make several different dishes with just one!" said the blue frog.
''That's interesting. Pass it to me to see if it's good.'' Anne held out her hand, and Wally handed her over the gangly gourd.
She tapped the vegetable as Hop Pop had shown her, and then put it to her ear. It seemed to sound normal. ''I think this one's good.'' she handed the vegetable back to him. ''Luz, how much will it cost?''
''This one looks like it would be ten coppers.'' hummed Luz.
Wally's face dropped. ''Aw, I only have nine.'' he started to hand the gourd back, but Anne stopped him.
''We'll give you a discount of one copper because you're our friend and you're our first customer.''
''Ooh, thank you very much!" the frog handed Luz the nine coppers. ''I'll be around by the way, scream if you need help with somethin'! And thank you a lot again. '' he thanked them before walking away.
After him came a few more frogs, who at first asked where Hop Pop was, but then they managed to sell them a vegetable or two with no problem. The old frog came back with Sprig and Polly when about four or five customers had already passed.
''You've done very well! You can make money almost twice as fast as me alone!" he congratulated them. ''Maybe we can have a fancy dinner tonight if we keep this up! Did you check the vegetables before selling them?''
''Of course! Anne was smiling widely under her mask. ''I did everything you showed me for every single one of them!''
''Good job Anne, that is a Planter difference! You can't taste honesty, but if you could - it would taste like a Planter stand vegetable!'' he immediately realized it was a mistake to say that particular phrase. He felt Luz looking him straight in the eye through the tinted purple lenses of her goggles. The old frog looked way in guilt and shame. ''This stand is the heart and soul of this family. I don't know what I'd do if we lost it...''
''Bad news everyone, bad news!'' a small frog gave a scroll to Hop Pop and then ran away. ''Gonna run away before you read it!''
''That Toadie...'' Hop Pop muttered to himself. He pulled out his reading glasses and opened the sifter. His eyes widened. ''Say WHAT? Mayor Toadstool is quadrupling the rent! And he wants it in three days!'' he started running frantically in circles. ''What are we gonna do? We'll loose the stand at this rate!''
Frogs from other stands had also read the letter and were discussing how ridiculous it was.
''Hey hey!" Anne knelt down to shake him by the shoulders. ''You said we make money more efficiently right? We might be able to keep the stand!''
''Yeah! Me and Polly will really help this time!'' Sprig joined in.
''After all we have more working hands is a commodity unlike past years...'' Hop Pop sighed. ''We don't have much choice... But what can we do to boost the popularity of the stand?''
''What if we hand out advertisements?" recommended Luz. ''Give me colors and pencils and I can draw little flyers that we can hand out to the citizens!''
''Luz that's a great idea!" Hop Pop jumped in. ''Sprig! Quickly fetch paper and drawing materials from the farm!'' Sprig nodded at him and rushed towards the farm. ''Ann, Polly, make a table and chair out of the empty crates for Luz to draw here.''
The two quickly got to work and soon there was a makeshift table and chair made from empty crates behind the counter. Sprig returned with charcoal pencils, colored paints and brushes. Anne, Hop Pop and Sprig were selling while Polly and Luz were thinking up a good design for the advertisement. They managed to come up with the thing, on the flyer was written in cursive what the stall offered, where it was located and a small drawing. After Luz made about five in an hour, Sprig set off to hand out four of them to citizens because he was the most liked.
Luz moved her left hand, trying to reduce the pain in her wrist. It was much harder for her to draw with her left hand than with her right, and it was slowing down the process. The clients were picking up though, the advertising had worked.
The sun was dropping. The day was almost over. They managed to sell a few more vegetables before they had to start harvesting. Their day would have been a lot of laughs if it weren't for the circumstances. Hop Pop couldn't remember when he'd made this much money before, but he didn't have time to be proud of their success because it barely covered a third of the rent. They had two more days left.
When they got home it was already dark. They made a quick dinner of chopped vegetables and then all went to their rooms to rest. It wasn't too late, but everyone was exhausted.
Luz, instead of going to bed, moved an old box to the middle of the basement, sat down on the ground, and continued drawing advertisements.
''Luz I think you should rest, you drew a lot of advertisements today.'' Anne said while taking off her shoes.
''I can't Anne, I have to do a few more for tomorrow.'' she accidentally set the ink pen still for too long and a large ink drop covered the beautiful cursive. Luz sighed in frustration and tossed the now ruined paper to the side. ''I can't draw that well and efficiently with my left hand.''
''How's your right arm?'' Anne sat down on the floor next to her.
Luz bit her lower lip. ''it's the same.'' she sounded near tears. ''I can't hold my pencil steady enough. I think it'll get better tho.''
''Dude, you're tired. Please go to sleep, you'll feel better in the morning.'' Anne took the brush from her hand.
Luz gave her a defeated look before moving to her bed. The Plantars had started making their sleeping areas more like beds when they realized they were going to be here for longer than expected. At least now their sleeping place was above ground. However, they had still pushed their beds together. It gave them a sense of comfort.
Luz again watched the ceiling illuminated by the soft blue light. She had searched and read in every magic book she could find for a potion that could help an injury like hers. Nowhere could she find anything. Maybe I should try making my own potion... Potion. That's it!
Luz shot up from the bed, startling Anne. ''What if me and Maddie try selling potions for money?" she said while a hopeful smile was making its way on her face.
Anne shot up as well. ''Dude! That's a great idea! But can you make potions this fast?''
Luz's smile dropped. ''m not sure. I will do the best I can.''
In the morning, everyone got up early again. Hop Pop and Luz were first. Luz immediately went to talk to Hop Pop about yesterday evening's idea.
''Hopadiah?'' Luz got his attention from the table where he was drinking coffee.
He nearly choked but quickly turned around, giving her a friendly smile. ''Good morning Luz.''
''I have an idea on how we can make more money to keep the stand going.'' she pulled out one of the chairs and sat across from Hop Pop. ''We'll sell some of the potions Maddie and I make. We'll split the money between their stand and ours.''
''Luz, I don't know if the citizens will want to-'' he was interrupted.
''Yeah, I've thought about that too. You'll advertise them because they trust you. You'll say what the potions do and surely everyone will want to buy!'' Luz left him to think about the idea.
''That could really work.'' the old frog nodded. ''Thank you for the idea, Luz. Give me the potions when they're ready and I'll advertise and sell them.''
Hop Pop came out early to fix the stand and soon the others got up as well. They had a quick snack, Luz took all the extra healing and painkilling potions he could find in the basement, the two humans put their disguises back on, and everyone headed towards the city center at the stands.
Of all the stands, Luz recognized one set up in front of the bakery that sold bread and baked goods. Behind it stood a large light blue frog with purple markings on his back. He wore an apron and a white hat and looked on with a slight frown.
''Guys I'll be back in a bit.'' Luz excused herself and separated from the group, swiftly walking over to the stall. ''Excuse me, are you Mr. Flour?''
He eyed Luz suspiciously. ''Yes, it's me. You're one of the two olm hybrids at Plantar's stand, right?''
''Yes, that's me. Is Maddie with you?'' asked Luz.
''Oooh, so you're Luz!'' he offered his hand for a handshake. ''Nice to meet you Luz! Hey I'll call you Maddie in a second.''
Mr. Flour walked into the bakery and returned a moment later with Maddie. Her face lit up when she saw Luz, and she quickly ran over to her side.
''Luz! I'm so sorry I wasn't around like I promised! But with the rent increasing four times, I had to stay to help at the bakery and I didn't have time!'' apologized Maddie.
''It's alright, I think the frogs are too busy worrying about their own stands than two strangers in town.'' Luz paused for a moment. ''That brings me to the thing I want to talk to you about. What if we sell potions? You know, not so dangerous potions, like painkillers or healing potions.''
''Believe it or not, I tried that before. It didn't work, no one wanted to buy potions from some kid pretending to be a witch.'' Maddie put quotation marks in the air on the last part.
''I figured out how we're going to sell them! Everyone trusts Hop Pop and believes he's an honest man! He'll advertise and sell them. We'll split the money we make from them,'' Luz said.
''That might work, but we'll have to be pretty quick. I don't know if we can do much in one day.'' said Maddie. ''Where are we going to make them? Here or in the cave? It'll be much closer here, but we won't have much space. And I'm kind of forbidden to do magic at home.''
''In the cave then. I'll have Anne come by every hour to pick up the potions we've made. I'll give the ones I currently have to Hop Pop.''
''We're meeting at the cave?" asked Maddie.
''We're meeting in the cave.'' confirmed Luz, then quickly headed towards the Planters stall.
After about half an hour, Luz moved the vines away from the cave entrance to enter. Maddie had already placed a cauldron of boiling water over a fire. ''So we're going to make healing and pain-relieving potions?'' Maddie asked as she cut some leaf into fine pieces.
''I guess they'll be the most in demand right now.'' Luz said as she began to gather the necessary ingredients together. He reached out from their stash of several jars of honey from hybeenas. ''Can't we sell a jar of honey? You said they sell them at a pretty high price.''
''We can but I wish we could save them. If we really have to, we'll sell, but I don't want to go back to the hive anytime soon. In fact, I don't want us to go back there at any time,'' Maddie said.
''Yeah you're right.'' Once the ingredients were gathered and the water ready, they began to carefully measure the amount of each ingredient, as they had never made such a large batch at once before.
Everything was going well, they had already added the honey and a few more ingredients. They just needed to add two more things and let it set.
''Hmm...'' Maddie squinted her eyes at the color of the potion and stirred it a few times to check the consistency. ''I think we added a bit more mushroom spores than we should have... Pass me the weak acid. The one with the pale green color on your right.''
Luz grabbed the jar with her right hand and held it up to hand it to Maddie. However, when she picked it up from the table, her hand immediately shook and her control faltered. The acid spilled, falling onto her hand. She dropped the glass container and it shattered when it made contact with the stone floor, spilling the remnants of the potion onto the floor. Luz hissed from the pinching on her arm where the potion had fallen.
Maddie flinched at the sound of breaking glass and turned sharply, pushing an entire bundle of herbs into the potion unwillingly. The color of the potion darkened. ''Shit.'' Maddie cursed under her breath. A whole cauldron of almost finished potion wasted. She couldn't help it but snap in anger. ''Luz! What did you-''
Maddie stopped herself as she saw Luz gripping the counter with her left hand for support while she stared at her shaking right arm on which there were already appearing rashes from the acid. It had finally hit her. Her arm wasn't going to get any better. The pain could stop, but she would never have the same control. Luz bit her bottom lip, tears already forming in her eyes.
Maddie's gaze softened. ''Luz, it's okay.'' the frog jumped on the counter so he could take Luz's hand in his. She quickly began to put some sort of gel on the appearing rashes that soothed her burning skin. ''We'll make a new potion Luz, don't worry. I too sometimes have things slip out of my hand.''
''But the flask didn't just slip out of my hand.'' Luz brought her hand to her side. ''When I picked it up I lost all control! I knew my arm had weakened, but not that much.''
Maddie sighed. ''So my assumptions were correct unfortunately. You definitely have nerve damage. I don't think your arm will regain its stability.''
''Isn't there any way to fix it? Luz asked with a bit of desperation in her voice.
''There are no potions for nerve injury in my books. Our best attempt would be to take you to a hospital in Newtopia, because that's where medicine is most advanced. But you won't be able to get there for a few months because of the frozen road.''
Luz blinked the stinging in her eyes away. She forced a chuckle. ''It wasn't so unexpected after all, was it? You told me early on that there was a very high possibility of that happening. It's okay, my right arm isn't that important anyway!'' They both knew it was a lie, but Maddie knew Luz well enough to know it was a coping mechanism.
There was nothing else for them to do but start working on a new potion.
After a few minutes in silence, they heard the vines shift and Anne appeared in the cave.
''You have no idea how fast your potions sold out! After they bought up the four a wave of citizens came, all asking how-'' Anne stopped when she noticed the dark atmosphere. ''Why the long faces?''
''We ruined a huge batch of potion.'' sighed Maddie.
''And I found out what's wrong with my hand.'' Luz sighed while squeezing the fluids out of some leaves.
''Isn't the second one good?" asked Anne.
''I'll tell you later.'' said Maddie. ''We don't have any doses for you to take to the stand, so we won't refuse an extra hand. You can cook right?''
''Yes. Why?''
''Making potions is something like that. Now I want you to chop this into as small as possible.'' Maddie gave her some plant and Luz's knife.
After an hour and a half, the huge cauldron of healing potion was ready and all that was left was to pour the potion into bottles. After another twenty minutes, the cauldron was rinsed to the last drop and the three quickly set off back to the town.
''So Hop Pop was able to sell the potion?" asked Luz.
''Yes, he sold all four of them in less than ten minutes! The other citizens heard and a rather large crowd formed in front of the stand. ''We promised them that we'll sell when you guys make more. I think the townsfolk are starting to like us! A few frogs greeted me when I was coming to the cave,'' Anne said.
A frog spotted them on the way and immediately pulled out coppers. ''You're making the potions, right? How much do you want for one?''
''Uh, fifty-''
The frog tossed them a bag of coins. ''I got about a sixty in there. Do they treat earwig bites? My husband was bitten pretty bad and hasn't been able to work for a few days.''
''Of course! Apply some of the potion on his wound and let him drink the rest.'' Luz immediately explained.
''The potion will also act as a pain killer. He'll probably be able to work the next day or so.'' finished Maddie and took out a potion for the frog.
''Thank you! You save us a lot of money and time!'' the frog thanked them once more before leaving.
''That's what I'm talking about. Potions are as wanted as water in a desert.'' chuckled Anne.
In the last few hours of the day, they managed to sell almost all of the potions. While they were harvesting, a few more frogs came and bought up everyone. After carefully counting the money, Luz gave half to Maddie, who then left.
The frog family and the two humans went back to the farm, more tired than ever. Hop Pop counted up all the money made from the two days. The first day was still the most successful, but the money from the second day was not little either. But they still wouldn't have enough. The mayor collected the money the next day when the sun was at its highest, which didn't leave them much time.
''Maddie and I won't have time to make another potion, it took us more than half the day today!'' Luz nervously drummed her fingers on the table.
''What if we make a protest?" suggested Polly.
Hop Pop sighed. ''Polly we can't-''
''Actually we can.'' Luz interrupted him. ''The mayor has no reason to raise the rent that much. Has there been a breakdown?''
Hop Pop shook his head.
''Then what is he using the money for?'' Anne raised an eyebrow.
''Toadstool ain't a good mayor.'' said Hop Pop. ''We suspect he's using all our money to make his jacuzzis in the town hall and all sorts of luxuries! The potholes in the road have been fixed since he's been in power! Not to mention the city lights!''
''All he does is make statues of him and all sorts of useless junk related to him!" chimed in Sprig.
''The other citizens should have noticed that too! They just need someone to give them a nudge.'' Luz said.
''And who would that be?" asked Hop Pop.
''You!'' Luz, Anne, Sprig and Polly pointed at him.
''Say what? Why me?''
''Oh come on, a blind man can see that all the citizens trust you.'' said Anne.
''You're highly respected among them Hopadiah.'' Luz assured him. ''If someone like you proposes a protest, the whole town will rise up!
'So we're seriously going to make a protest against the mayor?'' Hop Pop got incredulous looks from the others. ''To be honest, I've always wanted to oppose him.'' his expression turned serious. ''Alright then. I want you all to be awake when the sun rises. If we're going to raise the entire town, we should do it early.''
Luz was lying on her sleeping bag, looking up at the ceiling. ''Anne, do you have any idea how protests work?''
''Hmm?'' Anne turned around while trying to take off her leather chestplate. ''Mmm no. I never paid attention in history class.''
''Tomorrow will definitely be interesting.'' Luz hummed.
Anne lay down next to her, holding an Azura book. ''Do you want us to finish the chapter? I think there are a few pages left.'' Anne flipped through the book until she reached the wanted page.
Luz immediately cuddled into Anne's right side. The other girl was surprised by that, but then she timidly put her right arm around Luz. ''I know it must be hard for you to accept that you probably won't be able to use your hand in the same way...'' Anne trailed off, feeling the need to continue but not being able to find the right words. ''It's okay, you know? You can talk or if you want or something, I don't know.''
''No, I was kind of expecting that.'' she tried to gently back away from Anne, afraid it made her feel uncomfortable, but Anne kept her hand in place, showing she had no problem with it. ''Why do you think I'm thinking about this?
''I don't know if it's about that, you just look upset. You're always looking for physical contact when something's wrong.'' Anne stopped again. ''So is there something?''
There was something. Why was she lying to her? If she told her about the box now, the blame would go to Hop Pop. It wasn't too late. But Luz knew she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't say anything about Ann's box. But she wouldn't completely lie. ''No, no really. I just really like being close to you sometimes, it's giving me comfort.'' she said while her cheeks were turning crimson.
Anne had found herself blushing too. ''Oh. That's alright, you being close is giving me comfort as well.'' there was a brief silence.
''Let's try to finish a chapter from Azura.'' Luz said to fill the silence.
Anne picked up the book and started reading. After a few paragraphs, she broke out of the character she was playing. ''You've been able to read on your own for quite some time now. Why do you still want me to read to you? Not that I mind, the book is interesting, I was just wondering.''
Luz was silent for a while. ''I don't know. I like it when you read to me.''
Anne continued reading before another silence in which Anne would start questioning things about herself again. When she finished reading the chapter, Luz was already asleep. Anne put the book down and pressed the glowing mushroom twice to dim the light before letting herself fall asleep.
In the morning everyone woke up early as promised. They'd had a quick breakfast, Anne had gotten to Hop Pop's coffee and despite Luz's protests had made herself a cup and drunk it in one go. They weren't going to take their time getting the stand ready this time.
The frog family and the two humans made their way to the town centre where people were now panickingly preparing their own stands, hoping miraculously to raise enough money to pay their tax. Polly had prepared metal pots to attract the attention of the citizens. Her grandfather nodded to her and she began to bang the pots into each other, most of the citizens turning in their direction. She stopped banging when Hop Pop would start talking.
''Everybody!" Hop Pop shouted. ''Do you think the mayor has the right to increase the rent and only use the money for himself?''
The crowd agreed timidly, whispering amongst themselves.
''Do you think it's right for the potholes in the road to go unfixed, significantly slowing down all of you while the mayor lazes around in his new hot tub made out of your money?" Hop Pop continued to urge the crowd.
This time the frogs started to agree more loudly.
''Do you think the mayor cares about us? No! Do you think he cares about this town? No! And do you know what we have to do if we want change? We have to demand change! We have to fight for change if we have to!" with that Hop Pop successfully won over the crowd.
Frogs excitedly cheered, citizens who weren't at the center came because of the noise and joined in. Soon the whole town was assembled. Wally, Mrs. Croaker and even Maddie's father came to chant for change.
''That's the spirit I want from you!" shouted Hop Pop. ''Now let's go to town hall and make him give back the old rent with whatever we've got!''
The crowd intensified towards the town hall. Some frogs were picking up torches and pitchforks and it was obvious that the planned protest was about to turn into an uprising.
''LOWER THE RENT! LOWER THE RENT!'' the frogs shouted outside the town hall while waving whatever weapons they could find.
The agitated Mayor Toadstool came out and was visibly startled by the huge crowd. ''Hey, hey, I can't do this! The city needs the money!''
The mob exploded at his statement.
''You need the for the town?! When have you ever done anything for the town?" shouted Sadie Croaker. ''Things have only gotten worse since you've been a mayor! Look at the houses! Some look like they'd crumble to the ground if the wind blew them!'' the crowd agreed with the old frog.
The toad was getting more and more worried. Finally, everything was coming back to him. ''Look, it takes time for such changes-''
''Time?!" shouted Hop Pop. He was on Anne's shoulders so he could be heard better in the mob. ''You had all the time in the world Toadstool! You didn't have time to do anything that would improve the city, but you had time to add all sorts of fancy junk to your town hall!''
''Look, it's not that simple-'' The mayor squinted his eyes at Anne and Luz. ''What in the holy frog are those things?
''It doesn't matter!'' the frog who had bought Luz's potion for her husband cried. ''We have much more respect for them than we do for you! Whatever they are!''
The crowd shouted approvingly again. ''Lower the rent or no one will vote for you in the upcoming election!" one of the frogs yelled.
''Pffft, and who will be your mayor then?" asked the mayor.
Anne grabbed Hop Pop by the armpits to lift him into the air. ''Hop Pop!" she shouted.
''Say WHAAT?!" he shouted, but the crowd had already made up its mind.
''HOP POP FOR MAYOR! HOP POP FOR MAYOR!''
The mayor looked defeated this time. ''All right, all right! I'll bring the rent back to normal!''
However, the crowd was still not satisfied. ''We want change Toadstool!" yelled Mrs. Croaker.
The crowd raised their weapons. The mayor hesitated before shouting again. ''Okay, okay! I'll fix your streets and your houses! Stop the protest!''
The frogs yelled victoriously, jumping in different directions, making even more chaos. Something latched onto Luz's goggles and they fell off her face along with her mask and hood. Anne immediately darted towards her to try and cover her, but in the rush and because of the many frogs in the thick of it, both her mask and goggles fell off. Anne grabbed Luz by the arm and pulled her close to her. The crowd had hushed.
The frogs had moved away with frightened and disgusted looks.
''These are the beasts Wally warned us about!" one of the frogs said.
The Planters quickly surrounded Anne and Luz to try to protect them.
''No! Wait!" they heard Wally's voice trying to make his way through the crowd. The frogs gave him an oath and he quickly stood protectively in front of Anne and Luz as the Planters. ''I already told you it was a misunderstanding! The beasts are no threat to us! They are good creatures!''
''We have to banish them!'' the mayor shouted.
''Shut the hell up!'' responded Mrs. Croaker. She turned her attention to Hop Pop. ''Hopadiah! You've got some explaining to do!''
''I'm sorry I lied to you. I promise they're good, they saved my grandson! Remember that assassin bug that Maddie and Sprig brought?'' Hop Pop asked, seeing a nod from the frogs. ''Luz and Anne were the ones who killed it! My grandson wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for them!''
''It's true! That thing would have sucked the life out of me! Literally!" agreed Sprig.
''So please, let them live here and try to accept them! I know they look weird, but they wouldn't do anything bad.'' the old frog pleaded.
''Anne saved my life from a lizard!" said Wally. ''She saved me even though I was the one who spread the rumors about them here and made their lives harder!''
''It's true they sold me a healing potion for my husband yesterday and now he can walk again.'' agreed another frog.
''They checked the vegetable i wanted to buy for the parasites and when it turned out it had one they gave me another one that was healthy for a fair price.'' shouted a frog that was further back in the crowd.
''My daughter finally has a friend and is happier than ever!'' Mr. Flour agreed.
The crowd started to speak approvingly again. The oldest frog came forward to speak. ''I know they look weird and they lied to us about their identity, but let's give them a chance.'' Sadie leaned on her cane and smiled approvingly at them. ''But don't think we won't be watching you closely.'' her expression quickly changed to one of seriousness.''Mmm yes, thank you, can we go?'' Anne gave an awkward chuckle.
Soon, the frogs got bored of staring at the two humans and went their separate ways, allowing them to go back to the farm. Along the way, they got strange looks from the frogs again as if they were at day one again. Both, however, were too tired to care.
''Guys!'' Maddie appeared behind them. ''Why didn't you tell me you were going to protest? Oh no, your disguises!'' she prepared a smoke bomb.
''No no no, the citizens already know this isn't necessary.'' Luz said. ''We managed to get the mayor to bring back the old rent. Ask your father for details, he was there.''
''What are you planning to do now?'' asked Maddie.
''I'll be in hibernation for the next two days.'' Anne rubbed her eyes. ''Getting up at five in the morning and interacting with strangers all day is definitely not my thing.''
''Oh well, good luck with that. Luz, if you need me you can find me at the bakery.'' Maddie said before heading off in a different direction.
When they got to the farm everyone but Hop Pop collapsed either on the couch or on the ground.
''Who knew protesting was so exhausting.'' muttered Polly.
''Aren't you tired?'' Anne pointed a finger at Hop Pop. ''Aren't you older than time istelf after all?
''I feel strangely alive, even more alive than ever!" said the old man. ''Wait, hey, I'm not that old! Anyway, we can treat ourselves because we earned a lot of money after all. But nothing that expensive!''
The two humans, Sprig and Polly fell asleep in random places in the farm before it was even time for lunch.