Chapter four:

It took Branch many days to get use to the strange sensation of sleeping in a pod again, as well as to all the noise of the troll tree. There were times when he was sure all the singing was going to make him go crazy, but eventually the grey troll managed to start to tune it out. Poppy was a constant visitor, coming to see him every day in the afternoon and Branch had to admit he actually looked forward to her daily visits. Creek and he had grown even closer, they would spend the day talking, even play the occasional game, most of which consisted of card games, drafts and chess. The purple troll had quickly discovered that Branch was actually very good at chess, it was a discovery which did not surprise him all that much, after all his soul brother was a troll who always planned ahead.

The more time that Branch spent around Poppy the more he became aware that something inside him was changing and growing stronger at first the grey troll wasn't sure what this was at all. Eventually though Branch realised that he was falling in love with the princess and when he realised this the grey troll wanted to hit his head against something hard. As far as Branch was concerned falling in love with Poppy was probably the worst thing he could do, she was in love with his soul brother after all and he was the least likely troll to ever be thought of by her in a romantic light. It seemed though that no matter how hard he tried to deny what he felt it would not be denied, in fact it seemed to grow stronger instead.

It wasn't until Branch tried using his magic when he was alone while he thought of Poppy that the grey troll realised that the love he felt for the pink troll was not something simple, or something which with time would go away. His magic was so much stronger when he thought of her that Branch couldn't deny what he was feeling for the princess was true love. The grey troll let out a deep sigh, he looked down at his hand, then touched it to his chest over his heart, Branch could feel it so clearly now, the power and the warmth that marked out the fact he was holding true love in his heart for Poppy. Branch groaned this was a good thing in one sense because it meant his magic was now stronger than before but a bad thing in another because if he used his one sided true love for Poppy to help him defeat the enchantress when she came back for the princess then…Branch didn't even want to think about what would happen if he did that.

The grey troll considered telling Creek about his feelings for Poppy but decided not to, he was fairly sure that his soul brother had feelings of his own for the pink troll and he was not about to come between them. Branch knew that Poppy loved Creek, he had long ago adjusted to the idea that at some point the purple troll would take the place which should have been his as King of the trolls. The grey troll was more than happy to let the soul brother he trusted take his place, because Branch knew that Creek would take care of Poppy and the troll tree, all while keeping what he actually was a secret from the other trolls for the rest of their lives. Still Branch couldn't stop his heart from filling with joy when Poppy came to see him or douse the flames of hope that burnt in his heart that one day she might return his feelings for her.

Since he couldn't do much at first Branch spent a lot of time reading when he didn't have visitors or if Creek was out of the pod. The purple troll had been kind enough to go to Branch's bunker in order to get any of the books that he told Creek he had wanted. The grey troll had gone back over all the magical texts of his family to find out how his newly discovered true love for the princess might affect him especially if he was forced to use it when she did not return his feelings. By the time Branch had finished reading the books he knew the answers to all of his questions, in all honesty he had known them already but he had wanted to make sure…And now Branch knew for sure that he had been right using his one sided true love to defeat the enchantress when she returned to the troll tree would end with some unpleasant results for him. The grey troll didn't want to tell anyone what he had discovered, at least not until he'd had some time to adjust to this new information.

Creek could tell something was bothering Branch, he didn't know what it was but the purple troll was fairly sure that it had to be something important, but when Creek had tried to ask him about it but his soul brother wouldn't talk about what was wrong and in the end the spiritual troll decided that it was best to leave the subject alone. Creek was sure that when Branch was ready he would talk to him about what had happened then he would, until then all he could do was wait. Despite his resolution to wait and see what was wrong with Branch it didn't stop the purple troll from worrying about his soul brother. Little did Creek know that it would be years until Branch would finally tell him what had come to trouble him.

As time passes, Creek and Poppy watched with relief as Branch recovered, he healed slowly but surely and with each day that passed Branch become more like his old self. The princess had to admit the first time she caught the grey troll working out in Creek's pod she couldn't help but stair at him. Branch was completely unaware of her as he carefully exercised both his body and hair, showing off how strong he was to her for the first time. Poppy had to admit that Branch probably had hair as strong as Smidge which was saying something and she had never seen another troll with a body which was as well toned as his before. When the grey troll noticed her in the doorway he stopped what he was doing, they stood their staring at each other neither one was quite sure what to say to the other. The two trolls were saved from further embarrassment by Creek entering the pod, he looked from Branch to Poppy and then back again before saying. "Is everything alright?"

Poppy jumped and said quickly. "Fine…Everything is fine…"

"Yes fine." Branch assured his soul brother before pulling on his vest and settling down in a chair.

Creek frowned at them both but wisely decided to say nothing, instead he went to the kitchen to start on dinner and left Poppy and Branch alone once more. The two trolls locked gazes again, the princess sat on another chair in the main room and then spoke to Branch. "I didn't know that you were that strong."

"Well I've spent years taking care of myself and going out into the forest. I realized early on that going out into the forest and not being strong wasn't a good thing, so I decided to make sure that I was strong enough to deal with anything that I came across."

"Yeah…It's a good thing you did, I wouldn't be here if you hadn't…Twice you've saved my life and then there are all of the other times you have come to my rescue I've lost count of those. I'd never seen someone fight the way you do, and when I sore you fight I couldn't help but think that you were like a warrior from one of the old legends…"

Branch shrugged slightly. "Yes well, trolls haven't needed warriors for a long time…I'm pretty sure I am the only troll in the whole troll tree with the skills I have."

Poppy looked at him for a few moments before saying softly. "Yeah you probably are. It's a shame there aren't more trolls like you, I think we could do with a few more warriors around here."

"Maybe one day when you are Queen you can do something about that."

"Only if you will promise to train them." Poppy said to him with a smile.

Branch gave the pink troll a surprised look. "Me?"

"You're the only warrior troll we have as far as I am aware, who else would teach the other trolls how to be a good warrior but you?"

"You make a good point." The grey troll conceded.

"So, would you train the future warriors?" The grey troll gave her a nod and Poppy gave him a huge smile. "Thank you."

Branch was quite relived and sad in a way when Leaf told him he was well enough to go home at last. The grey troll was looking forward to being in his own home and in his own bed, but he would miss seeing so much of both Poppy and Creek. He need not have worried however as both Creek and Poppy promised to come and visit him in his bunker as often as they could. So, it was that Branch went back to his old life, with a new love in his heart but a determination not to stand in the way of Creek and Poppy being together. The purple troll had to admit that when Branch was gone Creek missed his company and he looked forward to meeting with the other troll even more than he had before.

Once the pink troll was satisfied that the grey troll was well and truly healed, Poppy had constantly bugged both Creek and Branch to teach her how to defend herself. Eventually the two male trolls had given into the princess's constant pestering and consented to teach the pink troll how to defend herself. Creek had started out by showing her how to do some simple short meditation, as well as breathing exercises and then eventually when he felt she was ready the purple troll showed her yoga. Branch on the other hand was the one to show the princess how to use her hair to defend herself, he also taught Poppy how to fight hand to hand and how to move quickly and more flexibly than before. The pink troll picked up what the soul brothers taught her at a rapid pace and with ease, Creek and Branch had to admit that they were both pleased with how well Poppy was picking up their lessons.

The purple troll had noticed that these lessons had brought Branch and Poppy a lot closer than they had been before. After noticing this fact Creek kept a close eye on the grey troll and he began to realise that Branch had at some point fallen in love with Poppy. This new knowledge pleased Creek, he had always hoped that once the two trolls spent some time together that they might develop romantic feelings for each other. Up until now all Branch had felt was a protectiveness for Poppy, but as Creek thought back to the mark on his soul brother's back, the poppy in the heart jumped into in the front of his mind. The eyes of the purple troll went wide, he wanted to slam his head against something, Creek could hardly believe that he had missed the fact that Branch had been in love with the princess more than likely for years, maybe even since their childhood and was now only starting to show that love more openly. The spiritual troll thought back to when his soul brother had been living with him and he couldn't help but wonder if this had been what had been bothering Branch at that time.