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The warm lights of the Plantar household gently bathed the grounds of the farm. The night was calm and the only sound breaking the soft silence was the creaking of the Fwagon as Marcy rapidly paced the old wood. She let the comfy atmosphere lull her into a sense of safety, her footsteps slowing down as she finally stood in front of her table; her open journal staring up at her.
Her Strawrus Walrus sketch on full display for anyone who walked into the Fwagon to see. She let a sudden giggle let loose. With her shoulders shaking violently Marcy wondered how the Fwagon was still standing. Her feet were aching in her boots but she couldn’t take those final steps to her bed, to blissful, ignorant sleep. As tears formed in the corners of her eyes during her sudden bout of laughter at a seemingly innocuous sketch Marcy knew her lack of sleep was catching up with her.
It had been many sleepless nights since Anne had left with the Plantars. Left Newtopia. Left Marcy . Oh it hurt so much. Anne rushing at her as Marcy let her go. The way Anne had hugged her with so much gratitude, so much joy at leaving Marcy. Well, leaving with the Plantars.
Marcy had always been a touchy-feely person, gentle holds and fleeting touches. When she loved, she wanted to be close. A hand wrapped around hers, a small nose bop was how Marcy talked when her seemingly endless supply of words couldn’t express how she felt.
Anne was close, oh so close yet all she could do was pat her back and hold in the tears. She wondered if the sun set slower in Amphibia.She knew it didn’t but the time she spent watching Anne walk away from her felt like an eternity. The dulling sun dipped below the city walls as her heart sank down to her boots. The newts milling around her oblivious to her churning thoughts.
.
“Go, follow your heart,” she barely choked out as she held Anne. So close yet so far.
She had spent so long looking for Anne.
”Use your head, Master Marcy! It’s the smartest option you have. Newtopia is the geographical center of Amphibia. She’ll arrive here eventually!” repeated Lady Olivia for the hundredth time.
Marcy had almost gone feral, she needed to get to Anne. Why could no one understand that? So she poured her heart and soul into rising through the ranks, playing the inhabitants of this vast city like one of her Fantasy video games.
Her years of practice paid off, she was loved and respected. Clumsy Marcy was now Guardian of Newtopia. Her image of the Chief Ranger of the Newtopian Night Guard held together with a few threads and a marvelous cape. She couldn’t lie, her life had gotten so much better and she loved how she had thrived in the new environment. Yet, something was missing.
A laugh as Marcy asked to hold Anne’s racket. Sasha rolling her eyes in the background. “Next you’ll be asking to play too” drawled Sasha as she watched them both. “Sasha! Don’t be mean,” chided Anne, “c’mon Mar Mar you hold it like this” she said gently.
Who was she kidding? Anne did everything gently. Whether it was holding her hand as she stepped down from the car, passing a pencil during a class or even helping her up when she fell down. Anne was always soft and deliberately slow as opposed to Marcy’s jerky movements and sudden shouts and realizations. Marcy’s calm in the swirling storm of her racing thoughts.
Anne was kind yet snarky. Headstrong to the point of borderline stupidity. Her dry humor brought Marcy nearly to tears and made Sasha almost fall out of her chair. She didn’t miss much from Earth but she did miss those golden moments at the crack of dawn when each of them were holding their sides in pain, laughing their hearts out as they barely held onto consciousness with sleep threatening to drag them down. But sleep was the furthest thing on their mind as they held each other with pealing laughter bouncing off the walls.
Anne had left with the Plantars and left Marcy’s cape gently swaying in the Newtopian wind as she stood there watching the shadows grow longer.
“I just got you back. I’ll see you again, I promise.” muttered Marcy, shivering in the evening chill.
A thud at her side made her whip around in shock, arm at her crossbow, poised and ready to attack. Her cape still behind her and her face carved out of stone. A model soldier in the making.
“Woah there Marcy, it's just me!,” came the booming voice of King Andrias.
Marcy’s shoulders relaxed, her arms falling to her sides. A ghost of a smile started flitting across her face. It was just King Andrias. Another safe haven in her new hom- world.
It was strange how this cold blooded world was slowly replacing Earth as her home.
He knelt down so he could speak to Marcy, “Hey what’s wrong ranger, you don’t look like your usual cheery self,” he said; eyes glittering. “Don’t tell me you’re ready for another round of Flipwart!”.
Marcy stared at the city walls. Andrias blue head reared up for a brief second and focused his gaze on the city limits.
“Ah I see”
Of course he did. Andrias got her like no one had before. He understood her, encouraged her. He even asked her to teach him Creatures and Caverns. No one even remembered her explaining it to them... not even Anne.
“Always sad to see them go hmm”
He lightly laid a single finger on her shoulder, the most he could do without crushing her. Marcy sighed, making her look more crumpled than before.
“It’s just-I spent so long following my head and what everyone told me was the most logical way to get back to her and yet-yet as soon as I found her she left . Why could she follow her heart ?” she hiccupped, the weight on her shoulder encouraging her to go on.
“ Why can’t I?” she whispered as an afterthought.
The tears she had been holding back for so long came cascading down. She raised her hand to wipe them away. To stop them. Somehow put them back where they came from. She didn’t need this, she was Marcy Protector of Newtopia. So many people were counting on her. She couldn’t afford to be brought down by something as simple as this.
“Friends..are a fickle thing. They come and go but some? They’ll always have your back.” Andrias smiled a toothy smile at her.
Marcy smiled through her tears, he was right. She had King Andrias.
“Let’s get you back to the castle hmm? We’ll warm you something up and you can tell me all about that Vagabondia Chronicles,”he said.
“Sounds good ….thank you,” she said looking up, a wane smile appearing on her tear stained face.
She finally turned her back at the gate as she walked towards the castle, almost slipping on the cobblestones. She needed to fix that.
As King Andrias walked by her side he seemed to be deep in thought. His forehead wrinkled as he pursed his lips.
He turned to face her once more.
“I have a proposition for you Marcy and I think you’ll find it very interesting”.
The sounds of the newts going about their lives; loud shouts and sudden laughter slowly faded into the background as Marcy gazed enraptured at King Andrias as he nudged her towards the castle.
A sudden crash snapped Marcy out of her stupor. She turned in surprise looking for the source of the sound,
“
Aaaanne,
” came the frustrated chorus of Sprig and Polly from their home.
“I’ll fix that, sorry dudes,”as the sounds of the thumping of feet against old staircases quickly followed.
Marcy stood in place wondering what was about to happen. She heard the squelching mud outside the Fwagon door. She winced remembering Anne’s lack of a shoe. She really needed to do something about that. Maybe Bernado could help..
“Hey Marbles!,” said Anne beaming, popping her bushy haired head through the window.
“Anna-banana! What are you doing out there, come in your shoe is getting muddy,” said Marcy, grinning in delight.
She heard Anne making her way to the door, “On it!,”
Marcy deftly removed her green hairclip and placed it between the pages she was looking at, closing the journal just as Anne entered the Fwagon. Her single shoe scuffing on a loose board.
“What ’cha working on Mar Mar? We have a long day ahead of us, you should get some sleep.”
“Says you, what in frogs name are you doing up?”
“I heard you pacing, just came to check up on you. I know how you get when you’re stressed” said Anne casually as her eyes wandered the Fwagon looking for the cause of Marcy’s sleeplessness.
Marcy’s heart leapt, simple words making her hope again.
“Don’t tell me King Andrias has been burning you out. I’ll have a word with him when we see him again,” she said, shaking her head in mock shock.
Marcy laughed.
“Oh I was just heading off to bed,”
“That’s a lie”
Marcy gazed at her sheepishly, “Ok maybe but I’ll sleep in a few minutes.”
“Promise?” said Anne, staring at her seriously.
“ Promise. ” said Marcy, taking Anne’s hand in her own wondering how many promises they had made to each other since that day they found each other at the gates.
Anne let go of her hand, stepped forward and tackled her into a tight hug
“Thanks for letting me go back with the Plantars,” whispered Anne as she clutched Marcy tightly. “I’m sorry for leaving you with all the work.”
Marcy hugged back, her fingers digging into Anne’s back. Anne’s bushy hair tickled Marcy’s forehead.
“You know I don’t mind’”
It wasn’t the work that hurt. It wasn’t the work that kept Marcy awake the past couple of nights, though it did play a part. But it wasn’t fair to put that on Anne’s shoulders. Marcy was used to it, she didn’t need to burden Anne with more worries. So Marcy didn’t say anything, relishing in the moment.
“That doesn’t make it right”, said Anne as she extricated herself from Marcy’s embrace. “We have a long day tomorrow, yeah? Let’s get some rest Mar-Mar and demolish that first temple. We’re almost home, I can feel it.”
“Sounds good Anne,” smiled Marcy gently, her smile lines crinkling. “Goodnight”
“Goodnight Marbles,” said Anne, stepping out of the Fwagon without making the wood creak. She turned back and gave a small wave. Marcy waved back rooted in place.
She watched Anne retreating back into the Plantar household. She watched as the lights were extinguished from their holders. The warmth emitting from the house diminishing with the loss of light, letting the cold air of the night take over. Her eyes lingered over the now dark house as she heard the basement door creak and hushed giggles slowly disappear.
She had Anne back once more, she couldn’t afford to lose her again. Anne was in her arms right here. She couldn’t let her go.
In a world of talking frogs, toads and newts ; she was still human . And she needed to make a choice.
Isn’t holding onto those we don’t want to lose the most human we could ever be?
King Andrias was right.
She needed to keep her by her side, if they went back to earth Marcy had to move. Marcy had to leave Anne. Marcy had to leave the friendship she had built over the years. Everything she had built in Amphibia would be gone. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
“I’m doing this for us,” said Marcy determinedly.
“I promised. I said you wouldn’t lose me and I’m going to keep that promise.” she said eyes focused on the house, her fists clutched at her side. A small breeze swept through the fwagon ruffling Marcy's unclipped hair.
“And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it.”