I OWN NOTHING! ALSO! Thank you guys for the amazing reviews! I'm so glad you like it and please continue to read and review! hope you enjoy chapter 2!


My eyes snap open to my darkened room, illuminated by a few glowing mushrooms sitting on my desk. My body's sitting straight up so fast I can't even remember moving at all. I gasp and take in a great, gulping breath of air, trying to rid myself of the feeling of drowning. I grasp at the sheets as if they're the only thing keeping me from being dragged back down into my suffocating dreams.

"It's ok" I whisper to softly, almost worried that the shadows hanging around the room would overhear. "Everything fine, your fine. Your home, your alone, and your fin-" "Hey"

I shriek bloody murder at the top of my lungs at the unexpected voice, then I proceed to gracefully tumble out of my bed. With a face full of Pod fuzz, I quickly recognize who the voice laughing at me in the far corner of the room belongs to, Branch. What, did he sneak in here just to scare the hair off of me? Why is he even in my Pod to begin with? It's the middle of the night, and doesn't he have better things to do with his Coronation only a few days away an-"

Memory's from the Council meeting hit me like a hard punch to the gut, and all the air in my lungs decide that now's a good time to evacuate as Branches words come flooding back.

"…you are here by ordered…"

"…I need a partner to rule…"

"…My wife…"

"…until my dying day…"

I can't remember how to walk, how to talk, or how to think while his words play on repeat at full volume. Somehow Branch realized this, because he all but picks me up off the floor to seat me on the edge of my bed. The Grey Troll stands in front of me with one hand on my shoulder just incase I fall over, again. "Poppy" he says gentle, like he's trying to wake up a sleep walker, and maybe he is.

I look up at the future King and struggle to put my thought into words. "That…th-that happened?" Branch slowly nods his head and I barely register his thumb softly stroking my skin. "That's a thing…that's a thing that's going to happen…W-WHAT!" Branch flinches sharply and pulls his hand back, like he's afraid I'll bite it off. A ping of sympathy rings in my chest, I shouldn't be taking this out on him. Dear Cybil this is Branch we're talking about, he probably lost his shit when he found out.

He quickly assumes the 'How do I tell you that I ran over your caterpillar' routine by pacing back and forth around the room, before finally grabbing one of my desk chairs and pulling it next to my bed. He takes a seat and fixes me with a stare. Not a creepy one, like how Guy Diamond looks at sparkly dresses, but one that makes me wonder if he's afraid I'll disappear if he were to look away. The grump takes in a short, deep breath before beginning what I hope will be him answering the many questions that just keep building up.

"In the meeting, They-I told you that my Grandma declared that she wants me to get married, and that you were the one chosen. I…ok look, this is hard. Besides, I'm sure you have lots of questions, rants, and angry slaps you want to dish out. So go ahead be my guest and I'll just answer". Well, not what I expected but It'll work.

I let out a sigh and place my hand on his shoulder, startling him. Wow, ok, he was not kidding when he thought that I would be dishing out slaps. "Branch, dude. I'm not going to freaking attack you. I mean, we're both in this shit show together, right? But really, why this? I mean, you going to be the King for Cybil's sake!" I throw my arms in the air for emphasis "It wouldn't be hard for you to find a date. I mean sure, you would probably…defiantly need a little help in lots of departments, but hey! You're not bad looking, your protective…" A little too protective if you ask me, but ok chill, to each their own. "…you're extremely smart, and you know how to plan things to a T." Branch has yet to take his eyes off me, but he can't keep the guilt he must be feeling out of them. Man, that's not fair, he didn't ask for this either. "Poppy…" He groans, interrupting my good quality listing session. "Poppy, it's not just the fact of me getting a date. WHICH, I could without any help think you very much! Grandma wants the person to be someone who would challenge me without a second thought and someone that wouldn't give up, no matter how difficult the situation might be." Hehe, yeah…that sure does sounds like me…shit. I can feel my throat tightening, I try swallowing to clear it, but as you would expect, it doesn't work. I look down to hide my eyes that I bet are getting red right about now. Out of all my questions I have two, two that have been burning in my mind since I was first told.

"When" I slowly ask. Grabbing his hand and gripping it tight. It must be at just as hard on him as it is on me, this is Branch after all. His hands are shaking, so I give it another comforting squeeze. He answers back at the same, slowed rate "The morning of my coronation. The Wedding will be held during the sunrise, while the Crowning Ceremony will be during the sunset." The Coronation…that's only two days away. Panic rapidly builds in my chest, and my throat tightens even more. I lift my head up to meet his eyes but quickly drop it back down. Looking at him right now is much harder than I thought it would be. Softly, because I'm honestly kind of scared to even ask this, I let out my second question.

"Why me? That answer you gave before, I know that's not it. Sounds like me sure, but there and lots of Trolls with the same characteristics, so why? Really, why me?" Branch is the one gripping my hand this time, gently, but firm. At first he doesn't answer, instead he makes me lay back under the covers, then he moves his chair back into it place, with me protesting the whole time. I asked a question damn it, and I need to know why?! Right when I think he's about to walk out the entrance of my Pod, ignoring the question, he instead leans down to my ear, so close that I can feel his warm breath on my skin, and he whispers softer than I thought he would have ever been able to. "Because it had to be you".

He straightens back up, but not before surprising me again. He places a short, feather soft kiss to my forehead and whispers, louder this time "You should get some sleep". Without another word, he climbs out of my Pod and leaves me to try to decipher what the heck that just was! I mean come on, my goal was to stop needing to ask questions, now I have to start another freaking list. I bury my face in one of my caterpillar fuzz pillows and just scream for a bit. After I let that out, I try my best to get a grip on my reeling mind and slowly, I'm able to fall back into my own personal dreamland.