The Royal Secret // Amphibia AU

The choice

"Wait, hold up. They've been hiding this from you for 16 years?!" Sprig exclaimed in a shocked tone. 

"I know right! I should have known about this, I mean I'm the darn person with the powers."  Anne grumbled throwing her hands in the air, then letting gravity take its course by dropping her arms back into the semi-wet grass she was laying in.

 "Did they have a reason?" He asked, looking at Anne who was looking up at the clouds, a blank look on her face. 

"They said it was tradition for the mother to hide it from the daughter until the age of 16. Which I find stupid since why should they have hidden it from me? If I had known about it sooner, my experiences would have made so much more sense." 

"What experiences?" Sprig asked, "If you don't mind me asking."

"When I was 15 I started experiencing some pretty weird shit. Strange dreams, my body always feeling supercharged, insane headaches...Mom said it was just my body changing. But when I turned 16 it just got worse. More stuff kept emerging left and right."

Anne let out a sigh, glancing over at Sprig who had a worried look on his face. She felt her heart sink at that moment realizing he was worried for her, she hated it. 

 "I mean, it wasn't as bad as I make it out to be...I don't know, maybe if I had known about this sooner I'd at least have an answer for it." She said, attempting to ease his worries.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. But maybe it's not so bad, think on the bright side. You could be a superhero! Like the one in those comic books, we used to read all the time when we were younger. You could save the world!" He said with enthusiasm, waving his hands in the air for exaggeration. 

"And with what we're facing right now...I think we could really use a hero to give us some hope." He added with a low tone. His body eased into its usual relaxed state.

"But it's a huge responsibility Sprig. I don't think I'm ready for it" Anne sighed. "I'd be sacrificing the life I've always known and starting a brand new one." She sat up, huddling to her knees.

 The idea of change terrified her, entering something completely unknown and filled with possibilities that could go either way was frightening. She'd be diving headfirst into something unfamiliar, not knowing if she'd land into a heap of spikes, or be caught by a cloud. 

"I know what we're up against. Is it selfish of me to not want to do it?" She asked genuinely, feeling all sorts of ways about the ordeal she put in. 

"It's a big decision Anne, anyone would be scared of change. Especially a change this big." He replied with an honest tone. "But change isn't all that bad, yeah it's scary at first but it can lead to some pretty awesome things you never would have had if you didn't take that leap."

Anne looked at him wide-eyed, not expecting such good advice from such a small frog. Usually, Anne was the advice giver. "Woah dude" Anne snickered, rubbing the tears from her eyes. "When did you get so good at advice?"

"Learned from the best, I guess" He chuckled. "Let's start heading back, it's getting kinda cold."

---

It was later in the day. Anne was laying on her bed, in the dark, gazing up at her ceiling that was covered in glowing stars, lost in her own mind imagining what her life would be like if she did keep the powers. She tried to stay on the bright side as much as possible, but the other side of it kept finding a way in like it always did. 

She knew the responsibility she'd hold, the weight that would be on her shoulders. It wasn't going to be an easy path to take, she was aware of that. 

She felt she had an obligation to do this, with everything going down in amphibia because of a recent villain who made his presence and intentions known. A hero was definitely needed. Her mother was at her wit's end trying to keep her kingdom and everybody in it safe. Trying to reason with him, find out what he wants, but to no avail.

But she didn't know if she was ready for this, she never had time to prepare for such a life-changing moment. Her parents never once told her that her ancestors were superheroes, she felt so lost. 

But the choice she had to make was obvious, she had to accept her powers. Not for her, but for Amphibia. They needed a hero more than ever, the world was collapsing and facing immediate destruction. If she didn't take this opportunity to save her people, it would result in countless casualties. She never would've forgiven herself if she let the world she vowed to protect, fall to ruins when she could have done something to prevent it.