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As Sasha walked down the stone corridor to her friend's room in the castle, she found herself clenching and unclenching her hands anxiously.
Her nerves hadn't eased up since she and the Plantars arrived in Newtopia a week ago, having been greeted with a closed gate and giant ants.
And the Knight-Commander of the Royal Guard, Anne Boonchuy, of course.
Sasha still felt slight disbelief at that thought, sometimes. Her dorky friend, the impulsive, awkward, people-pleasing mess that is, or was, Anne Boonchuy. That same girl was now not only an accomplished knight, but also the leader of a regiment of elite soldiers, taking orders directly from the king himself.
She'd come a long way, to be sure. Sasha just wished she'd been there to see it.
Then again, with how she treated her friends, maybe it's a good thing she hadn't been there.
Sasha shook her head, as if to dislodge the intrusive thoughts.
"I'm different now. It's not gonna be like before, not even close to it. I promised Marcy that." Sasha thought, face falling as she remembered the last time she'd seen the dark-haired girl.
"I've always need you and Anne, but maybe. . . Maybe, you two never really needed me." She'd said, voice tired and worn and raw, before she let go-
Sasha stopped and groaned under her breath, turning to face a wall and thunking her head against the stone as she closed her eyes.
"I am NOT leaving it at that. She deserves that, at the least, after everything I put her through." She said to herself, taking a deep breath to calm herself, to stop the tears she could feel building up.
"Great, a breakdown in the middle of a random hallway, just what I needed. This has NOT been my year." Sasha thought as she leaned away from the away, running a hand through her short, messy hair and taking another deep breath.
Only to notice the door next to the wall she'd had her almost-breakdown next to.
The door with "Anne" painted on it in bright blue paint.
Sasha stared at it for a silent moment.
She put her hands on her hips and looked down, sighing wearily.
"That's a sign of how this is going to go, isn't it?" Sasha said lowly, already dreading the conversation ahead.
Not intent on delaying the inevitable, however, she looked up, squared her shoulders, and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Called Anne.
Sasha felt her confidence crumble.
But not enough to stop her from opening the door and walking in.
And sure enough, there sat the voice's owner, sitting at the edge of her bed in a t-shirt and sweatpants.
Sharpening a twinblade that was as long as she was tall.
Sasha stared at the weapon being worked on in her friend's lap for a long moment, cradled gently as she ran the whetstone along the side of one of the blades.
Then she noticed that Anne was staring at her with an eyebrow raised.
"I'd forgotten that you got cool on the way over here." Sasha blurted out before she could stop herself.
The statement startled a snort out of Anne, jostling her out of her steady movement.
"Starting off with a backhanded compliment. Yep, that's the Sasha I know, alright." Anne said with a nostalgic smirk.
Sasha felt her heart twist a little at that statement, rubbing the back of her neck with her left hand as her mouth thinned.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." She said, looking down, wondering how she she'd already managed to start off on the wrong foot.
Anne's smirk dropped, a confused frown taking it's face.
"Hey, it's okay, no harm done. Here," Anne said, scooting over and setting her twinblade to lean next to her, patting the empty spot on her left, "Take a seat."
Sasha, after a moment of hesitation, took up Anne's offer, bouncing slightly on the plush surface.
A moment of silence passed between the two, Sasha looking around the room, rather than at Anne.
Another moment passed.
. . .
And another.
. . .
"Well, this is awkward." Anne stated bluntly, in that distinctly Anne sort of way, all bright and nonchalant.
That got a smile and a laugh out of Sasha, which in turn made Anne smile.
"Sorry about that. It's just," Sasha started, once she got her laughter under control, "I just don't know how to start this. It's... it's been a while." She finished, hand back at her neck as she looked the other way, though with a soft, sad smile this time.
Anne wore the same smile. "It has been, yeah." She said, nodding, before perking up. "So, how've you been, Sash?"
Sasha felt relief at hearing the nickname, at the hope that they hadn't grown too far apart just yet.
"I've been good." She answered, then chuckled. "Better than I thought I would be, to be honest." She said, turning back to her old friend, smile still small and soft, but now bright, too.
Anne's eyes widened, caught off-guard by the response.
Sasha furrowed her brows at Anne, but didn't loose her smile. "What's that look for?"
Anne shook her head. "Sorry," she said, "Just, wasn't expecting that."
Sasha narrowed her eyes playfully. "What, were you expecting me to be a damsel in distress or something?" She said jokingly.
Anne sucked her lips in and looked at the floor.
Sasha traded her smile in for an unimpressed look.
"Seriously?" She asked, voice deadpan.
"Well, I mean," Anne started, nervously chuckling, "I know you're a strong willed person and all, and cheerleading DID give you some muscle, but you're also a valley girl, Sash. You scream if a spider so much as looks at you." Anne finished, looking back up.
"Arachnophobia's a normal fear and there's nothing wrong with it." Sasha defended, crossing her arms, "And besides, I've been living on a farm for a year now. You can't be dainty with THAT kind of work." She said.
"Yeah, I could tell you've been doing some hard labor." Anne said with a smug tone. "The overalls kind of gave that away." She tugged on the denim strap on Sasha's right shoulder. "That, and your short hair," She rubbed a hand in the short blonde locks. "And your new Hey Howdy Ya'll accent." She said, affecting a phony one of her own. "And those freckles all. Over. You." She punctuated each word by poking a freckle, starting at Sasha's arm, migrating to up to a cheek.
Sasha swatted the hand out of her face with a glaring pout. "First off, farm work is hard and dirty work. You need tough, easily washed clothes for it. Secondly, stuff kept getting caught and stuck in my hair, and it usually spelled disaster for me, so I made the practical choice. Thirdly, I've been living with country people for a year now, some things just rub off on you. And lastly, there's no sunscreen in Amphibia, so screw you." She finished off her rant by sticking her tongue out.
Anne tried to pinch the offending appendage.
Sasha drew it back in before she could.
That sent Anne into a fit of laughter, breaking Sasha out of her glare, giggling along with her.
She'd missed this.
"So," Anne said as her laughter slowed, "Farm work, huh? What's that like?"
"It's kind of what you think it is, but also not really." Sasha said as she leaned back on her elbows, looking up at the ceiling. "It's hard labor, it's hot or cold depending on the month, and it's filthy. But, it's also kind of fulfilling."
"Fulfilling?" Anne asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah. You put in all the work of tilling and planting and watering and keeping an eye on the fields, but then one day you walk out for more of the same, look around at the crops getting close to harvest, and it's like "Damn, I did this," and then you get to eat it and sell it." Sasha answered, turning back to Anne.
Only to notice her staring at her with a contemplative look.
"What's that look for?" Sasha asked.
"It's just. . . " Anne said, unsure of how to word her answer, "I've never seen you look so. . ."
"At peace?" Sasha supplied.
". . . Well, yeah, I guess," Anne said with a wince, "Uh, not that-"
"No no, it's okay, Anne," Sasha interrupted, leaning up and over her lap, lacing her hands anxiously, "It's true, really. I wasn't. . . okay, on Earth."
"Sasha, if you don't-"
"I want to." Sasha interrupted again, then grimaced, hands tightening around each other. "Well, I don't, actually, but not talking about it hasn't worked out. For me, or anybody else."
She took a deep breath in, then out.
"My parents weren't really interested in kids. They had me to try out the family thing, I think, but when I started distracting them from work, they just gave up. No reward or trade-off for time spent on me." Sasha said bitterly, glaring at the floor.
"They basically threw me at the staff, and while I'm grateful for everything they did for me, I was only ever a job for them. A job that not a lot of people stayed for. I don't know if I even remember the original help, or if I'm getting them confused with a different line-up." Sasha continued, ignoring how her grip became painful around her fingers.
"Every time the staff changed, I'd go to see them off. Then, I'd head up to my room, and cry. And no one would do anything about it. I know they could hear it, they always had this- this look in their eyes the next day, but they never so much as asked if I was okay."
Sasha felt Anne wrapping her arms around her, but she didn't dare look up. She knew if she saw the look on her friend's face, she'd lose her nerve and stop. She wanted to stop, if she were honest with herself.
But she also didn't want to keep this in anymore.
"That's how it was for a long while. Until I met you and Marcy." Sasha said, quietly. "You two were the first friends I had. You stayed."
The arms tightened.
"That was the biggest thing to me. That you both wanted to stay. So I. . . I tried to make sure that you kept staying. The sleepovers, the parties and gifts, the school-skipping, they just kept getting bigger and bigger and I kept clinging tighter and tighter and-" Sasha choked, shoulders shaking as her vision blurred.
She couldn't stop the tears this time.
"I never wanted you and Marcy to leave, but I got so controlling. It was barely even friendship at that point, it was just me hoarding you both to myself!"
She couldn't see anymore, it was all just wet shapes.
"I-" Sasha stuttered, voice thick and quickening, "You haven't seen your parents for a year now, and it's my fault!"
"Sasha-"
"I made you steal that stupid music box! I took you away from your family, and it's only hit me just a few months ago how much I fucked up! I'm-"
She felt herself being turned around, face pressed into something firm. A hand was rubbing itself up and down her back, another wrapped tightly around her shoulders, keeping her close.
Sasha wrapped her arms around Anne and leaned in fully, heaving sobs and apologies into the crook of her friend's neck.
They stayed like that for a few long minutes, the room silent save for Sasha's sobbing and Anne's quiet shushing.
Eventually, the blonde quietened, breath slowing as her vision cleared. Though she stayed where she was, soaking in her friend's warmth, grip loosening as tiredness sunk in.
"Apparently, breakdowns take a lot out of you." Sasha thought, sniffling.
"You good to talk, now?" Anne asked quietly, running her hand from Sasha's back up to her hair, carding through it comfortingly.
Sasha nodded, swallowing against the heaviness.
"I get the feeling that you didn't actually mean that, but that's alright, because I have some things to say first." Anne said, gentle and firm.
"I'll say it right now, you did push me into a lot of things, and you did decide a lot of things for me and without me, and it stung every time."
Sasha said nothing.
"But, that was also a year ago. The Sasha from then wouldn't have thought so much on this, not enough to regret it, let alone cry for it. Hell, that Sasha wouldn't have apologized for an accidental backhanded compliment. She would said it intentionally."
Anne pulled Sasha away from her, setting a hand on a shoulder while the other lifted the blonde's chin, looking her straight in the eyes.
"You've changed, Sasha. For the better, and I cannot stress that enough." The brunette said, wiping away an errant tear on Sasha's face, smiling.
"I'm so proud of you, Sash."
Sasha smiled weakly in return, raising a hand to rub at her other eye. "Annnnee," she whined, "You're gonna make me cry again. I made your shirt gross enough as is."
Anne only smiled wider. "I think it's worth it."
"So, the Plantars, huh?" Anne said from where she sat on her bed, twinblade back in her lap as she ran a whetstone along one end.
"Yep. Took me in when they found me, made me earn my piece good and honest." Sasha said from her spot on the floor opposite Anne, reaching for a roast leg from one of the platters between them.
"So what, they shoved a shovel in your hand and told you to get digging?" The brunette asked, picking up her weapon and twirling it around, resting it back in her lap and sharpening the other blade.
"There are more farm tools than just shovels and pitchforks, Anne." Sasha replied, rolling her eyes as she bit into the leg, "And not exactly, no. The crops are the farm's livelihood, and as far as they knew at the time, I was some wild, unknown monster they'd invited into their home. They had me just cleaning the house at first, but after a while, they asked me to help out in the fields."
"Dude, don't talk with your mouth full, that's nasty. And if they you were a wild monster, why'd they take you in to begin with?" Anne asked, squinting at a spot on the blade she worked on.
"They're just like that, can't help it when someone's in need. Also, you haven't even looked up from that thing, so bah to etiquette. That, and this is literally gonna be the only time Hop Pop isn't gonna be riding me for table manners, so." Sasha responded by taking a bigger bite out of the leg, throwing the now cleaned bone onto the platter and sipping from a goblet, already reaching for another leg.
"Man, you're packing it away. And is that so? Well, looking at you now, I guess that should have been obvious. They've been good for you." Anne said as she reach for her desk, grabbing an oilcloth from it.
"Like you weren't eating your weight earlier, too. I work on a farm, what's your excuse? And yeah, they have been." Sasha said, smiling fondly as she thought of the past year.
"Military life, and that smile there says that there's more to it." The dark-skinned teen said as she flicked her eyes down from her blade, rubbing the cloth absentmindedly along it.
"Well," Sasha said, throwing another bone onto the platter, looking away. "Yeah, I guess there is."
Anne raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
Sasha took a deep breath in as she set her goblet aside, followed it with a long exhale.
"In about a month, after everything gets processed and officiated, I'll have a new name. Sasha Plantar."
Anne halted in her maintenance, eyes widening as brought her head to face her friend fully.
"They're adopting you?" She asked, voice raising.
"Yeah. Hop Pop got the paperwork signed and sent as soon as we left the castle when we first got here." Sasha confirmed, looking anxiously away.
The room was silent for a beat.
"Well, congrats, I guess?" Anne said, unsure.
"Thanks." Sasha said, drumming her fingers on her calf.
. . .
"I take it you're staying in Amphibia for good then, huh?" Anne asked, looking at a corner of her room.
"That's the plan." Sasha said, staring at the floor.
. . .
"You know, we didn't used to fall into this much awkward silence." Anne said.
Sasha couldn't help her smile. "Yeah, we didn't, but I don't know, I think it's growing on me."
Anne threw a bone at Sasha.
"Hey, you're all Ms. Honest Farmgirl, sass is MY thing now."
Sasha threw the bone back.
"Nope, throne is still mine, Captain Mop-Top."
Anne snorted.
"So then, you're okay with this?" Sasha asked, nervousness seeping into her tone.
"Sasha, I just told you about how much you've grown. And knowing your home life beforehand, I can't say I'd be happy to see you go back to that. So, yeah. I'm okay with you having found a home here." Anne said, with a soft, understanding smile.
Sasha felt something in her unwind, tension leaving her as a tentative smile broke out.
"Thank you, so much, for understanding." Sasha said, relief plain to hear.
"Anytime, Sash." Anne answered back, with sincerity just as plain.
"So, mind telling me about your new froggy family?"
Sasha smiled wider, warm and happy. "Not at all. Anyone you wanna learn about first?"
Anne pinched her chin, putting on a deeply thoughtful face, though it was betrayed by her smirk.
"How about the purple one in the bucket? She seemed fun."
"Ah, Polly. Yeah, fun is one word for her. Scary's another." Sasha answered, unfolding her legs from underneath her and leaning back.
"Scary? Isn't she just a baby?" Anne asked, confused.
"Yeah, but she's also wicked smart, and has a penchant for chaos. She actually figured out how to make fireworks, then tried to go bird hunting with them."
"No way." Anne said, leaning forward.
"Yep. Had to lock up all the flour after that, and I mean padlock and chains kind of lock up."
"I want to say I'm surprised, but given that she's your. . little sister?" Anne asked.
"Little sister." Sasha nodded.
"Your little sister, I can't say it's that big of a twist. I remember your pop-rock pranks VERY well."
Sasha raised a hand to argue.
Then lowered it.
"Stop making points."
"Nope." Anne blew a raspberry with that.
Sasha flicked a grape at her.
"So, old guy next. Hop Pop, I'm guessing?"
"Yep, head of the Plantar family, and a good grandpa, even if he can be a bit overbearing sometimes."
"Protective?"
"Very. He's always stressing about how to take care of us, but since I showed up and took some of the load, he's calmed down some. Still tries a new scheme every now and then, though. Vegetables just aren't selling like they used to."
Anne frowned at that. "You guys having money troubles, huh?"
Sasha held up a hand, mouth pressed into a line. "Don't. I appreciate the thought, but neither I nor my Hop Pop would be able to stomach living off of charity. And not really, we still have food on the table and our taxes squared away, just have to be conservative with out coppers otherwise."
Anne shook her head, knowing that trying anything else would be futile.
"Well, that leaves the little dude, then."
Sasha smiled again, happy to be moving on. "Sprig, my little brother. He's the one I'm closest to, spend most of my time with."
Anne's eyebrows raised. "Really? I would have figured you'd find someone closer to your age to hang out with."
Sasha chuckled. "Nah, I'm the only teen in Wartwood. That, and he's the first Frog I met. He helped me out, introduced me to the rest of the Plantars. Been stuck to my side ever since. He's hyper, he gets fixated on things and loses interest at random, he can go on for hours when he finds something to talk about, and he usually ends up dragging me into one adventure or another."
Sasha's smile turned small, warmth and love shining in her eyes as she looked at nothing.
"And I wouldn't trade him for anything. He's the best little brother I could've ask for."
"Awww!" Anne cooed, hand to her heart, "That's so sweet! You really ARE a big sister now!"
"Aw quiet, you. I'm still tough! Just love my family, that's all." Sasha waved off, grinning the whole while.
Anne hummed happily, smiling wide.
"Soooooo." She said, twirling her twinblade again to run the cloth along the other side.
"You want a Little Brother story, don't you." Sasha said, knowing the answer.
Anne nodded giddily.
Sasha leaned her head back for a moment to think, before one came to her, causing her grin to stretch.
"Okay, here's one I know you're gonna love." Sasha said, leaning up.
Anne leaned forward excitedly.
"Now, here's how it goes. Early on during my stay, the town throws this potluck, everyone gets involved. Hop Pop sends me and Sprig to get some dough for our recipe, but the baker? He's almost out, everyone's been buying from him and he's prepped his own stuff. He tells me that if I want any dough, I have to promise Sprig's hand to his daughter, Maddie."
"Wait, what? He seriously told you to make Sprig marry his daughter, just for something he makes every day?" Anne asked incredulously.
"Wartwoodians are very competitive, and he's wanted free stock from us for a while. So anyways, by this point, I'm pretty attached to Sprig, right? So, I talk him down. What if they don't like each other, what if she gets stuck in an unhappy marriage, all that. This goes on for an hour, until finally, I haggle him down to three dates, to test if they're compatible."
"I'm still kind of hung up on the arranged marriage thing, but good on you, Sash. So, what was up with the daughter? Was she gross or mean or something?" Anne asks, setting the oilcloth back on the table and her twinblade at her side, leaning fully on her knees.
"Nah, she's actually a little cutie, same age as Sprig. She's also a Curse-User, leans HARD into the Goth Witch ascetic."
"No way, an actual witch!? I'd heard about them here, but I haven't actually gotten to meet one yet!"
"Visit Wartwood sometime and I'll introduce you two. She's every bit as creepy as they make Witches sound, even has this little evil laugh. It's kind of adorable, really." Sasha says as she takes a sip from her neglected drink.
"So, about two weeks later, I'm getting Sprig ready for his first date. I'm not really thinking about it, just telling him to stay loose and have fun, and then I'm sending him out the door. That evening, he comes back wide-eyed, says that Witches are just as scary as Hop Pop says they are."
"Aww, poor little guy!"
"Yeah, but the "Poor Little Guy" still has two more dates to go, so I tell him that he's just gonna have to get used to it, and that I'll be there when he gets back if he wants to talk after the next one. So, a week later, he comes up to me and asks "Sasha, how are you supposed to talk to someone when you're scared?" and I tell him "Well, maybe she's just really nervous and shy. Try being nice and listening, maybe she won't seem so bad." Then I give him a flower and shove him out the door."
"Just one flower?"
"The fewer, the more sincere. So, I'm sitting there in the living room reading when evening rolls in, and in comes Sprig with this frown on his face. I figure the date went bad and ask him if he wants to talk. He says no, then heads up to his room, says he wants to think. I figure he'll come and talk to me when he's ready, so I just go back to my book."
"Another week later, I find him in the bathroom getting all cleaned and dressed, even combs his hair by himself, something I usually have to hold him down for, mind you. So, I ask him "Sprig, what're you doing?" and he tells me he's getting ready for his third date. I figure he just wants to get the third one out of the way and be done with it, so I go and let him get ready."
"That evening, he comes in with another frown, but not as big as last time. I ask him again if he wants to talk, he says not yet and goes up to his room. Come morning, after we get out early chores done, he asks me real quiet "Hey Sasha, how do you ask someone out on a date without haggling their father down from an engagement." I'm understandably shocked."
Anne squeals as she taps her feet, seeing where this story is heading. Sasha's grin couldn't be wider.
"So, I shake it off and tell him that you just ask. He insists that it can't be that easy, but when I say I could do it for him, he backs down and says he'll try. That evening, he comes in just-a swaggering, until I smirk at him. He says this proves nothing."
Sasha takes a long drink from her goblet, noticing she has Anne on the edge of the bed now.
"By date five, he's asking me what kind of gift should he get a Dark Arts practitioner. Date eight, he's asking Hop Pop if Maddie can come over for dinner. She comes over every week now, by the way. Now, Sprig wants to visit the market while we're here. He wants to buy a Sunshell, to match the Moonshell Maddie gave him, as a gift to celebrate their thirteenth date that they're gonna have when we get back."
Anne squeals again, high and loud and every bit as mushy as Sasha anticipated.
"Ohmygoshthat'ssocuuuuuuute!" She screams, practically vibrating in place.
"I'm pretty happy with it, too. They make each other happy, and they both turn cherry red when you make a comment about how cute they look together." Sasha says, enjoying the way her friend shakes at her words.
"Uuuuuugggghhhh, I wish I'd been there! Young Love is so ADORABLE!" She slams a fist into her bed at that, bouncing herself slightly.
Sasha just shakes her head. "Alright, alright, I gave you a story, now I want one. That big sword thing. What is it and how'd you get it?"
Anne picks up her weapon, giving it a slow twirl as it shines under the candlelight. "Oh, this bad boy? Saw it in the armory when I was first training to be a knight! Picked it up and found out that I had a natural talent with it!" She said, grinning smugly.
Sasha stared.
Anne held her grin.
Sasha narrowed her eyes.
"You picked it just because it looked cool, didn't you?"
Anne's grin cracked.
"And you sucked hard at using it at first."
Anne's mouth pressed into a thin line.
"But you'd already said that you were gonna be awesome with it in no time, so you just kept practicing with it, probably almost chopping a few things off, until you were actually good at it."
Anne glared.
"Never change, Boonchuy, never change."
Anne threw a bunch of grapes at Sasha.
The blonde just laughed.
"Alright, last chance to check your private effects, everybody! If you don't have it, you're leaving it behind!" Hop Pop called as he carried a box into the wagon (She was not calling it the F'Wagon).
"You heard him, you better make sure everything's packed!" Sasha called as she followed him, carrying a stack of her own.
"Polly, you got your bucket?" She asked as she set her load down inside.
"I always do!" The tadpole yelled from the back of the wagon.
"And your new bucket?"
"Right here next to me!"
"And Microangelo?"
"Meep meep!"
"Stay cute, Micro."
With that, Sasha pulled down the ladder and climbed up, poking her head out of the hatch to see Sprig tying down the tarps after having checked them.
"You got everything, Sprig?"
"Yep," he said, patting his vest pocket as he stood up from tying the last knot. "Thanks for helping me find the shell earlier, sis!"
Sasha smiled warmly at that. "Anytime, little bro. Bet Maddie's gonna love it, huh~"
"Welp, I better double check these knots, starting with the ones at the very back." He said turning around quickly, though not before Sasha saw his blush. She grinned to herself as she stepped down.
"And now, for me." Sasha thought to herself as she opened the flat crate sat on the table.
Inside were her own gifts to herself from Market Day, an axe and shield of quality make, inlaid with red knot patterns.
Sasha picked the axe up, testing the weight as she had when she'd bought it.
She brought the blade close to inspect it, seeing her eyes reflected in the metal.
"Here's hoping I won't have to use you," she said quietly, running a finger along the blade, "But I'm not gonna be afraid to."
She had put time and effort into learning the lessons Tritonio taught her, even if she'd had to beat him into shape afterward. She wasn't fixing on wasting them.
She put the axe back and closed the crate, pressing the lid down tightly as Sprig climbed down the ladder behind her.
"I got everything and everyone's inside! We're ready to go, Hop Pop!" Sasha yelled as she sat down, putting the crate in the seat next to her.
"Alright, let's not waste time, then! It's a long drive back to Wartwood, and I wanna try and cut the time as much as we can!" She heard him say from outside, as the wagon rocked and started moving.
"WAIT! WAAAAIT!" Another voice yelled from outside.
"Of course we couldn't leave without a hassle, could we?" Sasha heard Hop Pop lament from his seat, wagon rocking again as it stopped.
Sasha stepped out just in time to see a green newt in castle servant clothing stop by the wagon, hands on his knees as he gasped for breath.
"Alright," Hop Pop said as he stepped down from the driver's seat, "What'd we do this time."
"H-huh? No, no, no, I'm just a messenger. I'm here with a letter for the Plantars straight from the castle. If, um, you are the Plantars, yes?" The newt huffed, finally getting his breathing under control.
"That's us, don't worry. What's this letter about?" Hop Pop asked, concern evident in his voice.
"I don't know, I was just told to deliver it to you before you left the city. Here, let me just-" The messenger said, patting his coat down before stopping on a pocket, pulling out a thick envelope. "Ah, here it is! Now, excuse me please, I think I need to lay down somewhere. Goodness, that was a long ways to run." He said, offering it to the elder of the group.
Hop Pop took the letter and opened it as the newt started walking away, collapsing along the nearest wall.
As Hop Pop pulled out and read the letter, his eyes widened. He pulled the rest of the letter out, along with a bundle of folded papers tied together with string.
"Everything alright, Pop?" Sasha asked, apprehension setting in as she watched him continue to read with wide eyes.
Then he handed the tied papers to her, smiling wide. "Read those and tell me, kiddo."
Sasha furrowed her brow at him, taking the papers and pulling the string off. She unfolded the papers, and felt her breath catch on the first document.
Sprig pulled gently on her overalls, worry on his face. "Sasha? What does it say?"
Sasha swallowed, and spoke.
"This certificate of adoption certifies that Sasha Aurora Plantar has been formally adopted into-"
She didn't get much further before Sprig jumped up and hugged her neck, whooping the whole time.
As she hugged Spri- her brother. Her legally certified little brother back, she turned to Hop Pop.
He must have seen the question in her eyes, as he held the paper he still had with both hands, showing off the royal crest on the back, and began to read, smile never wavering.
"This letter certifies that the following documents have been overseen and expediated by Knight-Commander Anne Boonchuy, with the full blessing of our king, first of his name, Andrias Leviathan. Contained within are the adoption and birth certificates of one Sasha Aurora Plantar, to be delivered to the Plantar Clan at the earliest convenience possible, as signed and ordered by Lady Olivia Olmivinus, Royal Advisor of His Grace."
Sasha worked her mouth, but no words came.
The Plantar elder took the liberty of taking the paper form her hands, folding it and his own letter and putting them away in a pocket on the inside of his coat. He then took his eldest grandchild into a tight hug, as much of her as he could hold despite the height difference.
"Welcome to the family, darling." He said, joy loud to hear despite how quietly he talked.
Sasha just wrapped an arm around him, bundling Polly in between her and Sprig when she joined in.
For a good long while, Sasha Plantar just held her family close.