Chapter ten:
Poppy kept trying to remember what Branch had freely given up, but no matter how hard the princess tried the memory wouldn't come. The pain she had felt in her heart after that meeting in her dreams with Branch still festered, but the princess was starting to realise that this feeling of pain in her heart was because she cared for the grey troll a lot more than she had realised. The princess had told Creek about Branch's visit to her dream, the spiritual troll had been clearly surprised by this revelation but at the same time happy to hear that his soul brother had another troll to talk to even if those visits would be few and far between.
It was now two months since the King had visited her dreams, the pink princess wished that he would visit her dreams again but he hadn't yet. Branch had told her that he might not be able to do so again for some time, it appeared that it had taken a lot out of the King to come into her dreams. Poppy just hopped that the grey troll would be alright and that he would have the energy to be able to visit her, in her dreams again soon.
Today the princess was doing one of her favourite things, watching over the younger trolls, the children were playing together happily. Then Poppy noticed one little group to one side, they seemed to be acting something out, the princess assumed it was from one of the stories she told the children, Poppy had seen them do that before when they liked a particular part of one of her stories. Curious the pink troll walked over to them wanting to see which one of her stories they were playing out together. As Poppy got closer she realised that one of the male children was laying in the arms of another male who was on his knees and one of the female trolls was also kneeling along side them. The princess froze as she recognised this position from the day Branch had saved her and even as the child in the arms of the other said words similar to those the King had spoken that day his voice came back to her all at once. "I always knew this would happen if I used the one sided true love I held for you." Poppy let out a loud gasp, the children all turned to look at her and they all instantly crowded round the princess concerned for her.
"Princess Poppy are you alright?" Little Sky asked her.
The pink troll quickly shook herself out of her shock, smiled around at them all reassuringly and answered the question. "Yes, I'm alright I just remembered something important that's all."
Quiet how the she didn't leave right there and then to see Branch Poppy had no idea, but somehow she managed to wait until after the parents of the young trolls came to take them home, before she ran the whole way to were Branch was. When she reached the spot the princess was out of breath, she took a few moments to catch her breath, then Poppy pushed the leaves of the area aside, she was glad to find that there was no one else there. The princess walked forward letting the leaves fall back into place behind her, quietly the pink troll made her way to the side of the sleeping King, she placed her right hand onto his two and said to him softly. "I remember…I don't even know how I could forgot those words…True love…You used the true love you held for me to save both myself, the troll tree and all the other trolls. Even I know that is one of the most powerful things in the world and not something to be given away lightly. At least now I know that the only way you can wake is if that true love is returned…I feel like such an idiot all this time…All this time you have been waiting for the love you'd give so freely to be given back to you. Oh Branch…No wonder you wanted to make sure that whoever saved you did so by themselves. You gave up so much for me…I don't deserve it…Thank you." Tears started to roll down her cheeks, the pink troll shook as sobs welled up and forced their way passed her lips.
A few moments later purple arms closed round her from behind in a gentle hug, as she continued to weep, Poppy leant back against the other troll and moved her hand from on top of those of the grey troll to touch the spiritual troll's arm. "You worked out the answer to his riddle, didn't you?" Creek asked her softly.
Poppy gave him a nod and choked out. "Oh Creek…I've cost Branch so much…First his colours and now…Now this…"
The purple troll hugged her a little tighter. "When you truly love someone as Branch does you, then you'll willingly give up everything you have to see them happy and safe. My soul brother wouldn't want to see you cry…"
The princess spoke to Creek through her tears. "True love…That's what the poppy heart stood for all this time…Why…Why didn't I see that I'm such an idiot…I can't stop crying…There not tears for me though, there for Branch…"
"Oh Poppy…" Creek said softly.
A few moments later Poppy managed to stop crying, but then with tears still on her cheeks the princess suddenly burst out with. "He's never going to wake up is he?! I'm never going to get to see Branch smile properly, I'm never going to see what his true colours are or hear him sing am I? I'm never going to hear his voice again except in my dreams am I?"
The spiritual troll sighed deeply and shook his head. "I don't know Poppy, I just don't know…True love is such a rare thing, it's impossible to say how long it will be before a troll falls truly in love with Branch and is willing to show that love to him. But now we both know the cure to both the sleep and the grey curse we can make sure that our people know how to wake the great King, between us we can sew the seed of hope and we can keep hoping in our own hearts that someday some troll will truly love Branch."
"True love cures both of his curses…Poor Branch." After she said this Poppy lifted her left hand to her chest, she placed it on the same spot over her heart were Branch had pushed the blue flame into her. "The fire of true love always burns the brightest." The princess said softly.
"I've never heard that said before." Creek admitted.
"It was something my mother told me before she passed away…It's something I've never forgotten…" Poppy said her voice very soft as she let her hand drop back to her side.
Slowly the purple troll smiled at the one he was still hugging. "It sounds like your mother was a very wise troll."
"Thank you. If only I had been wiser…He loves me…How long has Branch been truly in love with me Creek?"
"I first suspected something when we were nineteen…But only had my suspicions about Branch's feelings for you confirmed when we were twenty one, so six years now."
"Six years…" Poppy choked out. "Why…Why didn't Branch ever tell me?"
"He didn't tell you because Branch knew that you were in love with me and he cares for us both too much to stand between us."
"I told him though months ago that I don't love you…At least not as anything more than a brother. It hurts Creek…"
"What hurts?" The spiritual troll asked her gently as he released her from the hug and came to stand next to the princess so he would not block her view of Branch.
Poppy answered his question quickly. "Seeing Branch like this…Knowing someday I'm going to lose him to some other troll…That she'll marry him, give Branch children…That she will get to see his true smile, see Branch's true colours and hear him sing…The idea hurts so much that I can't even find the words to say how much it pains me to think of that happening. I want to see Branch awake so desperately…But the thought of losing him to another is so painful…I don't understand why it should be so painful for me…I should be happy that Branch has the hope of waking up someday but…But all I feel is this horrible stabbing pain that won't go away."
Creek looked at the princess with compassionate blue eyes and asked. "Where do you feel this pain?"
The pink troll lifted her hand, she placed it once more to her chest over her heart and said softly to the other troll. "Here…It always hurts here…It has for years…The pain went away for a while and then it came back."
"I'd be willing to bet that the pain went away when Branch realised he was truly in love with you and that it came back when he fell asleep. You didn't feel that pain for almost six years, did you?"
"No I didn't…Creek what does it mean?" Poppy asked him turning wide vulnerable pink eyes onto the troll standing beside her.
"It means I'm an idiot." He said before he started to pace back and forth. "Hairballs I should have seen it…I should have thought to check! I'm such an idiot!"
"Creek please your frightening me."
The purple troll turned to the princess and raked his fingers into his two tone hair. "Sorry Poppy I didn't mean to scare you, it's just I can't believe I didn't think to even ask you if you were hurting when I knew about the bond between the two of you."
"Bond? What bond?"
Creek sat down on the branch, he gestured for Poppy to join him which she did and then explained his words to her. "You may or may not know this but my father was the keeper of the troll lore, he passed all his knowledge on to me and one of the things he taught me about were the great Kings. If a great King chooses to protect another troll it forms a bond between them, simply called a protection bond. Now this bond allows things to pass between the two members, now this pain is your pain, but when Branch realised he was truly in love with you it made his powers even stronger than before and he somehow shielded you from that pain."
"But what is this pain Creek?"
"Only you can discover that Poppy, but I think deep down in your heart you already know what it is and you're just too scared to admit it."
"If I have this bond with Branch which allows things to pass between us, then would it be possible for me to be able to talk to him as you do?" Poppy asked her pink eyes full of hope.
Creek tilted his head to one side and thought for a few moments before answering this question. "Well I don't know but…It might be possible. The only problem I can see is that the only two ways I know of contacting Branch or through dreams or through meditation. The reason why I call it a problem is the dreams require him to reach out to you, we know Branch can't do that often and as for meditation you don't exactly like to sit still for long periods of time which meant I only ever taught you short mediations."
"If learning to meditate for a longer time will mean I can talk to Branch then I'm willing to try. Please Creek."
The purple troll let out a deep sigh. "Alright, I'll show you how but I can't promise that it will mean you can talk to Branch."
"Thank you for agreeing to teach me, can we start now?" Poppy asked him in eager tones.
Creek chuckled at the princess's eagerness. "I don't see why not."
So it was that Creek started to teach Poppy to meditate for longer periods in the hopes that she would also be able to talk to Branch. The purple troll was very much hoping that the princess would be able to learn to meditate for longer and talk to his soul brother because Creek knew that of all the trolls Poppy was the one most likely to be able to get Branch to open up more. The spiritual troll hoped that if that happened then maybe, just maybe Poppy would start to realise that the pain in her heart was because she loved Branch just as much as he loved her.