Drifting in Dreamland With You

Heir of Heart

Anne was, admittedly, conflicted.

She was home, she had the Planters, she was free from whatever the hell Amphibia is.

…

But Marcy was still out there.

And Sasha too.

Whatever talked to her, it knows more than she does, and that made her feel stupid.

She couldn't find anything on Rosetta's shield.

She couldn't find anything.

Marcy would know what to do…

Marcy always knew what to do…

If she just had Marcy she could‐

"Anne!"

Anne snapped out of her thoughts, yelping at the sudden loud voice.

"Huh?! Bwha?! Who's in danger?!" Anne stumbled her words out in her sudden panic.

Sprig and Polly looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces.

Sprig looked back at Anne. "Nobody. Are you alright?" He asked gently.

Anne sighed. "No… No I'm not…" She admitted. She ran her hand through her hair, cringing when she pulled out a leaf. "I really didn't get much out of my hair with those baths, did I…?" She grumbled.

Sprig shrugged. "They just seem to keep returning. Same with twigs." He said, plucking a small twig out of the brunette's hair. Sprig stepped back for a moment. "Heh, those look like horns…" He chuckled. He reached up and pulled on another twig. He tugged again when it didn't move.

Anne winced. "What the heck was that, dude?" She hissed out, rubbing her forehead. She froze when her hand went over a stick that seemed to be protruding out of her head. "Oh no… No no no…!" She yelped out, trying to pull the sticks out. "Sprig! Sprig, get something to cut these off! Now!" She frantically told her brother.

Sprig jumped at the sudden yelling. "Uh…! Are you dying?! Is this some weird human disease?!" He asked, scrambling to find something.

Anne paused. "Uh… I dunno…" She admitted slowly, lowering her hands. Anne sighed. "I'm really stressed out…" She muttered to herself.

Sprig came hopping back into the room with a serrated kitchen knife. "This is the best I could find, so…" He said, handing the knife to Anne.

Anne hummed, taking the knife. "Thanks dude. I need to get rid of these." She said to her little brother, then walked upstairs to her room.

Shutting and locking the door behind her before everything caught up to her, she moved in front of her mirror, tenderly touching the branches that poked out of her head. She couldn't feel anything, so she guessed they didn't have any nerves and she wouldn't even feel the cut.

She pushed her hair back, placing the blade on the branch low enough so nobody would see it after it was cut.

Anne winced at the sound of the knife sawing away at the wood, but continued on. Until she winced in pain, making her drop the knife, that is.

Anne stumbled back, tripping on a dirty shirt she left on her floor, falling to the ground with a heavy thud. She mumbled a few curses under her breath then sat up, rubbing her head.

Her breath hitched when she felt liquid on her fingers. Anne looked back up at her mirror, confirming her suspicions. Scarlet liquid dribbled out of the twig horn she cut.

She was stuck with it.

Could she at least…?

Anne plucked a small twig off the growing branch with no pain.

She could shape it in time, just not get rid of it… Interesting.

Was this part of the Calamity Box's powers? Was she in tune with nature or something? Maybe she should have listened to Hop Pop's tale about the Ancient Planter Hunt… Maybe it was connected in some way.

Rosetta was an ancient frog, and Hop Pop got as far into his story to be able to say the Planter Hunt wasn't exclusively Planters, so maybe Rosetta, holding the gift of the heart, - or whatever it was, she honestly didn't pay attention to Marcy's and Andrias' rambles, she was too focused on Marcy's face at the time - helped out a bit. Maybe she was connected to the Earth.

Not her Earth, Amphibia soil type of Earth. Or maybe Rosetta was actually connected to her Earth… That would explain what it claimed…

A drop of blood hit the floor and Anne was shoved back to reality. She scrambled to get up and bounded to her bathroom, pulling our bandages, hastily wrapping the cut she caused.

Anne sighed, leaning against her sink, hunched over to look herself in the eye in the small bathroom mirror.

"What are you doing with yourself…?" Anne murmured quietly to herself. Deep bags were under her eyes, and mixing that to the varias twigs and leaves in her hair, she looked like some raccoon that lived in the forest.

Maybe she was that for a bit in Amphibia, huh…?

Anne sighed again. She twisted the knob on the sink, cold water pouring out of the faucet. Taking about a palmful of the water, she splashed her face.

"Anne Boonchuy, correct?"

Anne whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Calm, calm. I'm not here to hurt you. Nobody deserves that." The voice was soft, kind. "I can't show myself, unfortunately. A connection between the Amphibia afterlife and your world is hard to maintain. Littlepot would kill me if I accidentally found myself in Earth's afterlife." The voice said and giggled lightly.

"W-What do you want…?" Anne asked, voice shaky.

"To relay a message. So hi, I'm Rosetta Planter, you're my successor to the gift of compassion, I didn't want a successor because of Andrias, but hey, I'll try and keep you from making the same mistakes I have." Rosetta introduced herself. "I see you've found my family, even if they don't know I'm family…"

"Rosetta… As in, the one who wielded Rosetta's Shield?" Anne asked, tone laced with skepticality.

"Yeah… About that, the shield is destroyed, kiddo. I did it so they couldn't get it." Rosetta said awkwardly. "I brought the box there so they wouldn't get it, but they still got it…" She then grumbled.

Anne winced. "Sorry." She instinctively apologized.

"No no no! It's not your fault. Don't apologize, dear." Rosetta quickly responded. "Anywho, guess I have to relay Littlepot's cryptic message. You, the heir of heart, are the only one who can currently stop 'The Night'. But beware, for it masks itself as the heir of wit, the heir of wit who you have a strong bond to."

Anne huffed. "What am I supposed to do with that?" She asked. "All this 'Littlepot' is saying is that he thinks I have a crush on Marcy…" Anne grumbled.

Rosetta snickered. "That's not the full message, but hey, you got the end of it." She said. "Tell Hoppodiah to seek the full family history, to teach the world of the full Planter legacy. He doesn't even know half of us." Rosetta then told her successor. "I have to go now, I'm sorry kiddo… I wish I could give you more, but I'm out of time."

Anne felt a tear slip out of her eye as Rosetta's voice faded away. She wiped it away, making a quiet confused noise.

"Tell Hop Pop… Alright." Anne murmured to herself. She walked out of the bathroom, then unlocked her bedroom door and walked back downstairs. "Guys, I have quite the story to tell you." She told the family that was huddled at the dining room table.