Chapter two:
Over the next few months Poppy got to know the other trolls she was now living with, they were all a little different from each other but she really liked each one of them, the Princess had also found out that they all had different jobs. These trolls were all so busy with all of the things that they were doing the princess was unsurprised to discover that they'd had no time left in their day to clean the cottage before she had arrived. Satin and Chenille made the clothes for them all and to sell, Smidge, Fuzzbert and Creek went into the nearby mountains to mine the precious gems and metals. Copper helped to carry things back to and from the mines for these three trolls. Branch invented all kinds of thing, he carved, built, he also made things from the metals and gems as well as going out into the forest to forage for things that they needed. Biggie with his pet glow worm went into the local town to sell the things which made by the twins and Branch and purchase any items they needed while he was there. Guy Diamond was the one who tended the vegetable and herb gardens, he would also go into town with Biggie every day to sell any extra foods and herbs they had.
Poppy had to admit that she was really impressed by the things that Branch made from the metals and gems, he made everything from practical items to magnificent items of jewellery. The princess was still curious about what had turned the other troll grey, she wondered what his real colours looked like and what his singing voice sounded like, she also longed to know where Branch had come from. It was only knowing that the grey troll was in a lot of pain that stopped Poppy from asking all of the questions that she wanted to ask him. The princess had also learnt that despite his grumpy exterior Branch had a kind side to him and in his own strange way the grey troll cared for them all.
The other trolls had also grown use to the princess being part of their lives, they had come to like Poppy very much, she was a sweet, kind and helpful troll. They loved her singing voice, soon they were joining in with the songs the princess would sing and even the nine trolls taught her their own songs. The ten trolls found that they felt rather protective over the young princess and even Branch showed his protective streak around Poppy, this had surprised the other nine trolls but they had been smart enough not to comment on this fact. It had been the grey troll who insisted that whenever Poppy was home alone in the cottage that she should lock the door and let no one enter it in case Queen Bluebell came looking for her. The princess had been the one to dub them all the snack pack a name which caused much laughter but was taken up by her new friends and used by them a lot.
Years passed by and the princess kept safe by her protective new friends grew into a beautiful troll both in body and in soul. Over these years Poppy had developed a huge crush on Creek, the purple troll liked the princess but he didn't love her in the way Poppy wanted him to as he thought of her more like a younger sister. Even though he did not have a romantic interest in the princess Creek still tried to be kind to the younger troll, he didn't want to hurt the pink troll's feelings and have her suffer the same terrible fate as Branch.
Poppy had tried a lot of times to find out from Branch where he had come from and what had happened to him in order to turn him grey. At first the grey troll had refused to tell her anything, but after much begging and pleading over the past few years Branch finally decide he was going to have to tell Poppy something because she was clearly not going to leave him alone till he did. "Fine!" He snapped at her finally at the end of his rope. "You want to know I'll tell you then! I come from the mountain troll kingdom! I lost my colours because my parents died protecting me and then so did my grandmother! My mother and grandmother died because they were more beautiful then Queen Bluebell, my father died trying to protect them and me from her as the Queen also considered me a threat to her position as the fairest in the land…I should have died too but she took one look at my ugly grey colour after I lost all of the trolls I cared about and had me banished instead. Are you happy now you know what happened to me?"
The pink troll along with the other nine trolls he had lived with for years now all stared at him with wide eyes and the princess shook her head in answer to Branch's question. Poppy had never thought that one troll could have suffered through so much, she couldn't help but think that now she knew the truth that it was no wonder Branch was grey. "Oh Branch." Poppy said softly before she walked over to the grey troll and hugged him hard.
Slowly the grey troll returned the embrace, he hid his face in the side of the princess's neck and she could feel his tears on her skin. "Oh Branch." As she said this for the second time Poppy started to stroke his black hair instantly regretting what she had forced him to confess and the pain she had made him relive. A sudden strangled sob escaped Branch and then he started to shake as the grey troll completely broke down in the arms of the princess. Poppy just held him, she stroked his hair making soothing sounds, no one moved, they had always known that Branch had suffered a lot of pain but none of them had known that the pain in him ran this deep.
Slowly but surely the grey troll began to stop weeping, he moved back from Poppy, the princess reached up and gently stroked the tears which remained on his cheeks away. The grey troll blushed but didn't prevent the pink troll doing this and it was in that one moment that Creek and the others all realised that Branch cared deeply for Poppy. The princess locked her pink eyes with Branch's blue eyes and said to him in a soft caring voice. "One day you're going to find true love. All you need to do is listen to your heart and it will show you the way."
As the words of the princess caused the grey troll gave Poppy a small half smile Creek found himself suspecting that Branch more than just cared for the princess, the purple troll felt that it was actually more likely the grey troll was in love with her. Creek was also sure that because of his broken heart Branch had absolutely no idea of his own feelings for the princess. The purple troll decided that he would try to subtly help bring these two trolls together he could see that they would make an excellent couple if they just gave themselves the chance. However Creek would not get much of a chance to try and help bring Branch and Poppy together as the Queen in her far off castle was asking her magic mirror a question she had not asked it for many years. "Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest of all?"
"You my Queen are fair this is true but princess Poppy is the fairest of all." As it spoke the mirror reflected an image of Poppy and the place where she was living.
Enraged to discover her stepdaughter was still alive, the Queen instantly turned her thoughts to how she could use her magic to do away with Poppy for good this time. Bluebell used her magic to create a beautiful blue and pink corset which once it was on the princess would keep tightening until the pink troll could no longer breath. The Queen slipped this corset into a basket with lots of others, before she disguised herself as a middle aged peddler troll and made her way into the forest. It didn't take the purple Queen long to find the cottage of the trolls, the princess was outside cleaning the windows as the Bluebell made her way over to Poppy and once she was close enough addressed her. "Good morning fair lass. Can I sell you one of my fine corsets?"
With a gasp of surprise Poppy quickly turned to face older troll and backed away from her. "There beautiful but no thank you."
"Come now at least try one on. A pretty lass like you should have a lovely corset." This said the disguised Queen picked the corset up out of the basket and held it out towards her. "Trying one on isn't going to hurt you lass."
Poppy looked at the corset and sighed it was very pretty and she couldn't help but think that maybe the older troll was right trying one on wasn't going to hurt her. "Alright, thank you for letting me try one on."
Smiling Bluebell placed the corset on the Poppy, she did it up then stepped back to watch with sadistic delight as the corset got tighter and tighter on the younger troll. The Queen only left the clearing when the princess fell down to the ground and was laying perfectly still looking dead.
A few moments after this the snack pack came home, the instant they spotted Poppy, quickly they were at her side trying to work out what was wrong with the princess. It was Branch who spotted the corset on Poppy. "That wasn't on her earlier." He said before he knelt down at her side, the grey troll pulled out a knife from his pocket and carefully cut the corset away from the body of the pink troll. As soon as the corset was off of her Poppy took a deep breath and opened her eyes, Branch took one of her hands into his and asked with concern. "Were did the corset come from Poppy?"
"A peddler woman, she helped me to try it on and then I couldn't breathe…"
The grey troll let out a low pitched growl. "That had to be Queen Bluebell, this stinks of her. This means she knows where you are now Poppy. If you want to stay here with us, then you are going to need to be even more careful." As he spoke Branch stood back up and held a hand out to the princess.
As the princess put her hand into his, Poppy gave Branch a nod of understanding, she let him help her up onto her feet and then said to him. "I will be extra careful from now on Branch I promise."
The grey troll gave her a nod, he then reluctantly released the hand of the princess and watched her walk inside the cottage closely followed by the rest of the gang. Branch couldn't stand the thought of Queen Bluebell succeeding in harming Poppy, his broken heart hurt at the very thought of it and the grey troll wondered why he was feeling this way about the princess. Branch reasoned that it was because he didn't want to lose yet another troll he cared about to Queen Bluebell and her insane need to be the fairest of them all. When a purple hand fell onto his shoulder Branch turned to look at Creek, the other troll gave him an understanding smile before taking his hand away and walking inside to join the rest of the snack pack. The grey troll shook his head confused by what Creek had just done and why, Branch shook himself and then went inside the cottage making sure to close and lock the door of their home behind him.