Dear Little Poppy, a trolls fanfic

A/N: Yes, I'm still alive! It's been so long, almost a year now, but I'm still here writing for the Trolls fandom! For those of you who are wondering, Beautiful Thing and Love are still going to be finished. I'm in the middle of writing the new chapters now. Not sure when they'll be here, sometime soon though.

I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for being patient with me. Seriously, I'm so grateful! Life's been a rollercoaster lately, but I'm not abandoning my stories. In the meantime, here's a sad little one shot I whipped up after listening to Regina Spektor's cover of the Hamilton song "Dear Theodosia." I highly recommend listening to her cover of the song before reading this.

I suppose this could be considered canon to Beautiful Thing, but it doesn't have to be. It's a standalone one shot set before the movie and it explains what happens to Poppy's mother. Camellia is the only character I created here.

"Love as powerful as your mother's
for you leaves its own mark.
To have been loved so deeply,
even though the person who loved us is gone,
will give us some protection forever."
~J.K. Rowling

If there was one word that could be used for the queen of the trolls, it would be regal. The title "queen" fit her well. Though young, she was an exceptional queen. She kept the trolls together. She was a voice of reason and comfort among their bleak circumstances.

Though the troll tree sat surrounded by a cage and every year many trolls disappeared never to be heard from again, Queen Camellia planned around the clock with her husband King Peppy, both doing their best to keep their citizens filled with hope.

Camellia was good at diplomacy, talking, planning, and being reasonable. She most certainly knew how to relax and have fun, but she tended to be more serious than her jolly husband Peppy. She often worked round the clock, especially during the dark times of Trollstice.

It wasn't too soon after just a couple years of marriage that she and Peppy brought a little trolling into the world and barely a week after Poppy's entrance into the world, Camellia found herself trying her best to calm her wailing infant.

"Shh, little Poppy, don't cry!" she crooned, cradling her baby in her arms. "We can't let the bergens hear us." Though she shuddered at the thought, she still gazed adoringly down at her daughter, so proud of this little one she and Peppy had brought into the world.

Though she was happy, her eyelids drooped with exhaustion and small circles could be seen underneath her eyes. Being a queen and a mother was difficult work.

Despite her attempts, the baby refused to quiet down. Letting out a sigh, Camellia ran through everything she could think of. Poppy had already been fed and taken care of. It was time for bed, but no matter what the queen tried, the little princess would not stop crying.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Camellia let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, my little sapling, what will it take?" She rocked her gently back and forth, humming a mindless tune as she tried to calm her down. The light illuminating the royal pod and the dark peering through the cracks of the door were obvious signs for bedtime, yet still Poppy refused to sleep.

"Well," Camellia started, pushing her messy pink bangs out of her face. "There's one thing I haven't tried."

Sitting her pale pink form into the rocking chair next to the crib, Camellia settled her princess gently in her arms and opened her mouth to sing.

"Dear little Poppy, what to say to you?
You have my eyes
You have your father's name
When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart

"I'm dedicating every day to you
Domestic life was never quite my style
When you smile
You knock me out, I fall apart
And I thought I was so smart"

A deep masculine voice joined suddenly joined in. Camellia turned her head quickly, catching sight of a familiar figure in the doorway.

Peppy was home from his duties as king. He stood observing his wife and child, eyes twinkling and a large smile on his face. He quickly crossed the room, wrapping an arm gently around his wife. Both sets of eyes gazed down at their daughter, voices joining in harmony. The princess's cries suddenly quieted. Her wide eyes looked backed up at her parents, taking everything in.

Peppy and Camellia smiled, continuing their song.

"You will come of age with our young nation
We'll bleed and fight for you
We'll make it right for you
If we lay a strong enough foundation
We'll pass it on to you
We'll give the world to you"

Peppy and Camellia's reign hadn't been long, yet already they were working hard to bring hope back to their society. For years the trolls were happy as they naturally were but still fearful, the looming threat of getting eaten by bergens each year always there. For years the trolls hardly felt any hope, but Peppy and Camellia promised a new era to soon begin, one without threats of bergens.

"And you'll blow us all away...
Someday, someday
Yeah, you'll blow us all away
Someday, someday"

Peppy's voice faded, leaving just Camellia's voice.

"My mother wasn't around
My mother wasn't around
I swear that I'll be around for you
I'll do whatever it takes
I'll make a million mistakes
I'll make the world safe and sound for you…"

Camellia had grown up with only her father, her mother having been eaten by a bergen shortly after she had been born. The future queen had thankfully grown up with her father's love, but also in a world of fear. She knew what it was like to lose someone. Camellia remembered becoming determined at a young age with the desire to never let any future trolls feel what she felt: losing a loved one to bergens.

Both trolls' voices joined in harmony a second time.

Though many more Trollstices came and passed before Camellia was grown and old enough to start making a difference, her active volunteering to keep the citizens safe caught the eye of the current prince. Peppy fell in love almost as soon as he saw her. It wasn't long before a wedding happened, ushering in a new reign of royalty: King Peppy and Queen Camellia. Both were determined to keep their trolls safe. Both planned and worked and strategized, promising that things would be different, that soon they wouldn't have to put up with bergens.

As Camellia sang and gazed into her daughter's eyes, a large smile lit up her face. She had no doubt this little one would do amazing things. Of what she had yet to know, but the queen knew her princess must be destined to do great things.

She and her husband were changing things. They would escape soon, maybe not today, but soon, and then Poppy would grow up in a world without fear, a world without the pain of losing someone.

There had already been a troll lost that very day, a lady by the name of Rosiepuff. Camellia's features hardened momentarily at the grim thought. She would not let another one die, not if she could help it.

Peppy once again added his voice to his wife's. Their melody grew quieter as little Poppy's eyes began to droop, the hint of a smile resting on her face while fading off to sleep.

"And you'll blow us all away...
Someday, someday
Yeah, you'll blow us all away
Someday, someday"

With a sigh of relief Camellia pulled herself out of the chair and placed the sleeping princess into her crib. "I don't know why I hadn't thought of singing before," remarked the queen, exhaustion evident in her voice. "Nothing I did would put her to sleep."

Peppy gazed back at her, looking just as tired as she was. "Seems like our little Poppy likes music," he said, eyes still twinkling.

Camellia smiled back at him. "I don't know why she wouldn't. She is a troll after all. It's in her blood."

"She looks just like you," Peppy remarked, glancing down at their sleeping princess.

The queen smiled. "She got a lot of my pink color, too, although she got her dark pink hair from you. She also got her energetic and friendly personality from you. I have trouble keeping after her. She's always crawling from one place to the next, babbling at whatever live thing that crosses her path. Why, just this morning I found her trying to befriend a bug that had snuck into the kitchen!" Camellia let out a happy but weary sigh. "She may look like me, but she acts so much like you, Peppy."

Peppy let out a hearty chuckle. "I'm not so sure about that," he replied. "I caught her getting into your scrapbook supplies the other day. Who knows? We might have another avid scrapbooker in our family soon, just like you!"

Pink dusted the queen's cheeks. Peppy was right; Camellia did love scrapbooking. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see," said the queen with a yawn.

Little more was said that evening as both trolls unwound from the stresses of that day. Soon they too were sleeping like their daughter.

Days later...

The sun was peeking on the horizon, barely reaching out to warm the cool morning air. A pale pink figure stood on the edge of the troll tree, a wistful expression on the queen's features.

Thud. Thud. Thud. A bergen's footsteps slowly grew closer and a familiar chef hat came into view.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The sound was a warning.

"Oh, Peppy… Poppy..." Camellia murmured to herself as she eyed the approaching danger. Moisture gathered at the bottom of her eyelids as she padded closer to the edge of the lowest hanging limb of the tree.

Chef had heard of the new princess's arrival, and was adamant about using her in a new recipe for the upcoming Trollstice.

Camellia's lips pressed together in a thin line, the memory of that day fresh in her mind. Just days after Poppy's birth the bergen chef had arrived at the tree, demanding for the new princess. Peppy and Camellia refused, prompting the bergen chef to come back each day. Each day the chef took a troll citizen, the latest victim being Rosiepuff.

Finally Camellia had had enough. She ventured out into the open, giving the bergen a deal: the queen's life in exchange for leaving her husband, her daughter, and the rest of the citizens alone.

The bergen had agreed with a sneer.

Pulled back into the present moment, a tear escaped Camellia's eye, running down her glittery cheek. Peppy and Poppy were both safe in the royal pod, asleep and ignorant of where the queen was. Camellia had left a note for her husband explaining what she had done.

The bergen reached the edge of the tree, her cruel eyes catching sight of the queen who kept her promise.

"Peppy... Poppy..." Camellia murmured their names a second time. "Please forgive me."

Chef reach forward and snatched her up before trudging back to town.

The queen was never seen again.

Later that day...

A gray Peppy sat in his pod, his daughter in one hand and a crumpled note in the other. Tears streamed down his eyes, spilling into his pink beard. "My love..." he whispered. "Why did you do this?"

Little Poppy would never know her mother, how kind and how wise she was. She would grow up without her mother's love, just like Camellia had.

Peppy hugged his daughter close to his chest, never wanting to let her go. He had to be strong. He had to be strong for Poppy, for the memory of Camellia, for the citizens of the small troll nation.

He knew that soon he would have to muster up the strength to try to bring his colors back, to be strong for both his daughter and his kingdom, but for now he mourned.

He mourned what could have been. Silently he promised himself, promised himself and Poppy. He would continue the legacy he and Camellia had been building toward.

Somehow, someday soon, he would bring the trolls to freedom, for Poppy, for the memory of Camellia.

But for now he mourned.