Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of the Dreamworks movie, Trolls, since they belong to their rightful owners.
A sweet Melody.
It was a dark moonlit evening in the village of the trolls and everything appeared as peaceful had it always been. It had been three short years since the trolls had become steadfast friends with the Bergens and everything was brilliant and everyone was happy -especially after the newly-crowned queen Poppy had married the former grump of a troll, Branch, whom was taking some time adjusting to his new role as King. Things had become even better when it was announced that a new prince or princess was on the way!
But it appeared that things decided to take a sudden downward spiral in catastrophe.
A huge and vicious monster had begun a huge rampage and things got worse when it was discovered that it had a hunger for trolls -just like the Bergens used to before Poppy had convinced them that there were other methods to achieve joy and happiness- and it had started chasing a small group consisting of Branch, Biggie and Mr Dinkles, and Cooper.
They all made a mad dash towards the troll village with the huge monster right behind them, the giant footsteps drumming against the grass and causing the very earth beneath the tiny creatures to shake violently, and they couldn't help but be very frightened by this whole situation. The small group of three (and a half, if you count Mr Dinkles) knew that they had to get to the troll village and warn everyone even if they were aware that the monster was right behind them.
They were hoping that they would have outrun him by this point but clearly that hadn't been possible since they were not as agile and swift as their pursuer was.
"G-Guys!" Branch panted heavily, still running as fast as his legs could carry him, adrenaline swimming through his pulsating veins and giving him an extra burst of agility. "We gotta warn the others in the village! We need to-"
The blue troll never got to finish his sentence and he almost stopped from both shock and fear when he took notice that everybody whom had been running alongside him a second ago had vanished without a trace. His heart leapt into his throat and he could feel something inside him stir.
His ear twitched, however, when his ears caught a distant sound. He had to strain his ears to be able to catch it but it appeared that the sounds were someone calling for him. Pushing aside his confusion as to where his disappearing friends had gone off to for the time being, Branch carried on running with the beast right behind him.
When he kept running, he saw the troll village in his sights and that brought to him a tiny sliver of relief that would've been even bigger were it not for the huge monster chasing him. He couldn't help but think to himself as he tried his best not to trip or do anything that would end up with the beast tailing him to catch him.
"I have to keep running, and I have to find Poppy and make sure she's okay...!"
But he had no other choice but to slow his steps when he noticed that the once vibrant village that he'd grown up in were now shambles. Homes were in ruins, pods were destroyed, some surviving trolls were hiding away in some camouflage amongst some foliage and certain patches of grass were on fire -he had no idea how that was even possible!
He looked around with his world beginning to slow down with his mind suddenly racing and his breaths becoming sharp and quick as he started to hyperventilate due to how frightening this all was. He was struck with the horrifying realisation that there were more monsters yet there was even worse to come.
"Branch!"
Poppy cried out, struggling as a giant hand picked her up and squeezed her waist tightly to prevent her from escaping. She tried her hardest to free herself from the insanely tight grip that the monster had on her small body and she even resorted to trying to pry open the fingers that locked her in the tight grip she was trapped in.
Branch gasped in horror as he skidded to an abrupt halt, his heels screeching across the grass as they dug in to give him a bit more momentum.
This scenario reminded him of when his beloved grandmother had been taken away and eaten by the evil Bergen chief, his eyes stuck wide open and he started to realise that if he didn't do something now then Poppy would die in the same way.
He whirled himself around to face the direction of Poppy and he'd hardly wasted another second before he thrown his head back and then proceeded to throw it forwards and this made his dark blue hair extend greatly as it stretched up towards Poppy, whom had done the same thing, and both the King and queens pink and blue hair coiled around each other as they each pulled on one another in a desperate bid not to be separated.
"P-Poppy! Hold on!" He cried, his eyes watering as he squinted them due to the effort and strain of his troll hair. He started to panic when he felt Poppy's hair start unraveling from its tight coil around his and he sucked in a deep hiss of a breath through clenched teeth while he continued to try and fight the powerful force that was trying to literally pull the couple apart.
The monster pulled and pulled, making Branch start to seriously panic.
He was going to lose her...!
Poppy let out a shrill scream as the monster opened its mouth wide and time seemed to slow down as Branch watched his wife inch closer and closer to being shoved in the huge mouth filled with big sharp teeth. The pink troll cried as she closed her eyes just as the monster was a nanosecond away from shoving her inside of its mouth and down its throat.
Branch felt incredibly useless as he was restrained by some invisible force, unable to even try and rescue his beloved Poppy. Tears started to leak out from his stinging eyeballs and then trail down his glittery cheeks as he watched helplessly while Poppy cried and screamed for him to rescue her.
"SAVE ME BRANCH, PLEASE!"
Then, within an instant, she was gone...
"NO!"
Branch gasped as he bolted upright into an abrupt sitting up position, grabbing the edge of his blanket with his eyes were as wide as dinner plates and his breathing was quick and frantic as he quickly surveyed his surroundings.
It seemed that he was in his bedroom, it was quite dark due to how late it was, and he found that he could barely make out the silhouettes of the furniture that decorated the room such as the wardrobe and a few other things that made the bedroom an actual bedroom.
Branch gave a deep sigh of relief and used the back of his hand to wipe away a sheen of sweat that stuck to his brow.
"Phew...just a bad dream."
His droopy ears perked slightly when he heard soft snores and he looked down towards his left to find the queen of trolls, and his wife, Poppy, still lying in bed with the blankets pulled over most of her body and leaving her head poking out from the moss-made quilts, as well as her fine fluffs of pink hair. She seemed so peaceful as she lay on her side with her eyes closed, she seemed completely oblivious to what had just happened.
Branch could only exhume a huge sigh with relief that Poppy was alright, he placed his hand over his own chest and clasped the area where his heart was. He could feel it drumming hard beneath the palm of his hand and he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down after the whole ordeal. He'd been having nightmares similar to the ones he'd just had for quite some time and they had been getting more and more frequent and rather terrifying as time wore on.
The King of the trolls let go of his chest and then he started to look down at his own blanketed lap in deep thought. He knew that he should've been used to this by now since he's had many nightmares like these just not as intense and realistic yet this dream in particular really rattled him. He didn't like being plagued like this, and he knew going back to sleep wasn't an option...not anymore.
He sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed, there was something that he had a feeling would make him feel better yet he didn't want to risk waking Poppy.
Branch carefully climbed out of bed, stood up as he tried to blink the fatigue away, and then he quietly crept along with his footsteps wading against the moss that made up which made up the bedroom carpet, he couldn't help but notice the way that the moss squished beneath his feet and occasionally form footprints. He slowly approached the door and gave it a slight nudge with his elbow in an attempt to open the door as quietly as possible to try and avoid any unwanted problems to arise.
Upon making his quiet exit, the blue troll quickly found himself in the winding hallways of the survival bunker which had been decorated with far more colour ever since Poppy moved in with him; it didn't take him too long until he, despite almost looking through pitch black darkness, found the elevator and started to ride it up towards the surface. He popped out from the bunker door that had been made in the ground and he hoisted himself on to the surface.
After hauling himself out of the underground bunker, he started to meander down a short dirt pathway that led to a small pod that wasn't very far from the bunker at all but just seeing it made Branch's heart swell with joy.
It took only three minutes until he found the opening to the pod and he entered through it. He pressed his the tip of his thumb against a chubby firefly-like insect that stuck to the wall beside the entrance to the nursery pod and the whole pod lit up.
It was within an instant that the King beheld the brand new bedroom.
The floors were made from blue cotton and the walls had been painted a red/pink colour, a cradle had been erected to stand in the back of the room as well as a small wardrobe and a small extra tables that had been jammed in the corners of the room. In the middle of the room, hanging down from the ceiling in the middle, was a very well and carefully-crafted mobile with tiny wooden figurines and plants that were tied to it.
In the centre of the room stood a small fluffy flower that looked like it was abloom.
Instead of regular petals, however, there were a bunch of fuzzy peels that were wrapped up tight -the fluffy flower had small yellow petals mixed in with violet, it's stem was a delicate pale blue. Something inside of the blossoming flower was letting off a gentle glow, signifying that there was the growing baby troll inside.
Branch's and Poppy's youngling...
Branch walked up to the fuzzy flower and placed a gentle hand upon the integument,feeling the tiny pulse of the unborn troll growing inside drum steadily against his palm. He closed his eyes and took in the calming sensations of the gentle beating of his son/daughter's heartbeat and he couldn't help but smile warmly as he finally felt himself settle down a bit after having such a dreadful nightmare.
He couldn't help but feel deeply relaxed whenever he'd come here to spend quality time with the flower that contained his child, he found it therapeutic.
"I thought I'd find you here."
Branch almost felt his heart jump from his chest when he heard the voice.
His eyes snapped wide open and he scrambled around frantically to find the source of that voice that broke him from his reverie. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder and breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw the familiar face of his wife stood by the entrance with a tired smile pulling the corners of her lips upwards, but the azure blue troll also couldn't help but feel surprised that the hyperactively positive queen of the trolls was even awake to begin with.
"P-Poppy," Branch's eyes were wide and his ears were perked, "I thought you were still asleep?"
Poppy shook her head, a playful glint in her purple irises. Her eyes were heavy with fatigue and she couldn't help but smirk in a teasing manner as she placed her hands on her hips since she may have been tired but that didn't mean that she couldn't be playful with her dearly beloved now and then.
"Oh, I was until I heard you scream. Then I felt you leave my side and then heard a certain someone creeping out of the bedroom."
Branch couldn't help but blush slightly whilst feeling a bit sheepish and guilty for awakening Poppy over something as petty as a nightmare. He'd been having nightmares similar to the ones he'd just had for quite some time and they had been getting more and more frequent and rather terrifying as time wore on. He knew that he shouldn't lie to his wife but he didn't want her to worry about him, and so he decided to tell a slight fib.
The blue troll put on the best fake smile he could and softened his eyes at Poppy as he patted her shoulder in a reassuring manner.
"I'm sorry about waking you up but it's nothing to worry about, Pops, really..."
Poppy didn't seem the least convinced, though. She simply settled herself down as she sat on the ground and stared Branch deep in the eyes -she gave him the most adorable and irresistible look she could muster yet her eyebrows had become stiff and seemed to flatten, her voice took on a surprisingly authoritative yet soft tone.
"Branch...did you have another nightmare?"
If the blue troll were sipping water then he most certainly would have done a spit take. His thoughts were going completely haywire. How did she know? And what did she mean by "another"? Did she actually know about all the other previous nightmares, and if she did, how in the world was she able to figure that out?! He stammered and fumbled desperately to come up with a comeback or an appropriate response that would hopefully get her off of his back about it.
But he knew that it was pointless now that she figured him out.
It was time to face the music.
Hanging his head in defeat, Branch admitted to the truth.
"...Y-Yeah..."
Poppy frowned with genuine sincerity leaking into her tone as she gently demanded, "And why did you try hiding it from me? What're these nightmares about?"
"I just..." He trailed off for a second, his face scrunching up in tight frustration as he curled his fingers inwards to make a tight fist out of his right hand and then proceeded to thump the ground with it as he admitted to Poppy about his fears, trying not to burst into a huge crying fit but failing miserably as the tears escaped from his eyeballs and started rolling down his cheeks.
"I just get so scared that I'll lose you and our child, I get scared all the time that something big will come and take you away from me and, and, and...!"
Poppy shushed Branch, silencing him, and she got a good look at his face. He looked so tortured and almost broken and seeing him in such a state was enough to almost make her cry herself -she had never seen her husband look so frightened before and seeing him this way was just enough to make her heart break for him.
She hardly hesitated as she leaned forwards and locked her lips with his, kissing him passionately and affectionately. Branch had been caught off guard by the sudden kiss but he didn't dare pull away and simply returned it as he closed his eyes and let himself drown in the complete and utter bliss he felt each and every time his beautiful queen kissed him like this.
Even though it wasn't officially "hug time", Poppy couldn't help but furl her arms around him as she gave him a tight hug in order to soothe the hurt he must have been feeling and it was after she parted her lips from Branch's that Poppy held his cheek in her hand and they both stared each other directly in the eye -comforting purple meeting terrified icy blue- and then she smiled softly at him as she spoke to him in a quietly calming voice.
"Aw, Branch. You don't have to be frightened. I promise that I'm not going anywhere..." She leaned in and nuzzled his cheek with her nose affectionately, feeling the damp streaks where his tears previously fell from. "...At least not without you."
Poppy smiled as she positioned herself, settling herself so she was sitting adjacent to the flower and beside her husband, and she closed her eyes. She reached up and adjusted the crown over her messy head of hair and was silent for several moments as she started to readjust her position slightly and she wound up resting her head lightly against the bulb of the blooming flower where the unborn prince or princess of the trolls grew.
Branch (meanwhile) just blinked in mild confusion.
What was she doing?
Eyes still closed, Poppy continued to smile softly and she started to hum in a low tone voice that sounded hushed and soothing. It was a pretty little melody that she seemed to make up on the spot but it still sounded quite lovely somehow and it was so enchanting that if anyone were in a two mile radius it probably would have lulled even them into a nice deep sleep.
Branch felt his frowning mouth twitch into a gentle smile, and he couldn't help but find himself bobbing his head a tiny bit in response to the came-up-with-on-the-spot song that Poppy invented and he decided to mimic her actions by he resting his own head against the flower and he started to hum right along with her, his voice harmonising beautifully with Poppy's as they both sang.
As they both rested their heads against the troll flower, they never really noticed that they each had their hands on the ground -a blue hand resting atop a pink hand. Branch and Poppy also felt the heartbeat within it slow down into a more relaxed pace and they also felt some sort of contentment wash over them.
They felt like everything was going to be alright.
A/N: This is the end of the first chapter of my very first trolls fanfic. I'm planning on this to have three chapters and I am planning on making a full story around this short one in the distant future and I'm hoping that you guys like this so far, I hope to update this soon.
Btw, I purchased the Xmas special for this and I loved it. Highly recommend it!
Please review and tell me what you think of this.
-Chloemcg