Find Me…I'm Lost

Okay. This is a unique take on Trolls. I wouldn't exactly call this an alternate universe, but it is a little different. Bear with me, but also tell me what you think…good or bad. This is a look into what could possibly be.

I own nothing. Nothing.

Chapter Ten

"But you said he was Thorn's prince, Creek," Poppy pointed out as the troll nodded, "How is that possible?"

"He is the younger brother of the ruling twins of the ice trolls," Creek continued while gasps and murmurs met his words, "His mother set out to find a male of our tribe to breed an ice troll that could use ice and our hair abilities. Ice trolls can use frost to disguise their hair like ours and the prince's mother was very petite for being from these lands. I think she was planning on spiriting Prince Branch back here as an infant, but Bergens got to her before that happened. None of us knew the truth since Prince Branch was a normal height for his birth tribe. Plus, his ice has been sleeping within him so there was few clues that he is of two bloods. His brother and sister just recently awakened his ice, but they did so only to…ack!"

Chaos erupted when Branch launched up from his pallet after having used his hair to knock Creek over.

"Betrayer!" Branch roared before grunting and toppling over as Creek tackled him backwards, "Traitor! Get off me!"

"Calm down," Creek tried as Branch weakly fought him showing the sleep tonic was still affecting him up to a point, "It's not what you think, my prince. I swear this isn't a betrayal. Stop. Prince Branch, stop! You'll hurt yourself!"

"Like you care," Branch spat, kicking Creek off as he sat up to glare angrily at the panting troll, "You just wait until Frost and Crystal comes for me. You'll pay for your cowardly deeds!"

"Branch?"

The prince froze at the questioning call of his name. Creek watched eagerly as Branch turned to stare up at Poppy. The blue-skinned troll blinked at the pink lassie and remained still as he watched her turn and glare suddenly at the traitor.

"What have you done to his eyes, Creek?" Poppy snarled as Branch tilted his head in surprise, "Branch, are you okay?"

The prince frowned at this…quite lovely lass calling his name so informally. What was going on here?

"Dude, his eyes match your glitter, Guy," Cooper piped up as Branch finally noticed the rest of the group.

"Who are you all?" Branch demanded as Poppy's mouth dropped open, "Creek, what is going on? Why am I here? Who are these trolls? Who is…who is the open-mouthed lady?"

Poppy's mouth snapped shut as Branch continued to study her before finally looking back at Creek.

"Come by the fire, Prince Branch," Creek tried as the troll stood and watched everyone wearily, "This is a tale you need to hear too. I can answer all of your questions. All of them. But first, do you recognize her, my prince? Do you know who the pink troll is?"

"No," Branch denied as Poppy whimpered, making the prince regret his statement immediately, "Oh, no, my lady. Don't be upset. I've been ill and can't remember a lot of my old memories. H-have we met before? I'm so sorry, I can't remember if we have or not. You are certainly someone worth remembering. Please forgive me."

"Calm down, Prince Branch. It is not your fault that you can't remember and Poppy it's going to be okay," Creek soothed as Branch finally walked towards the fire with Poppy following after him looking upset, but hopeful at the purple troll's words, "I swear I can explain everything. My prince, you've been lied to from the minute you've woken. You have been ill, but that is not why you don't remember who Poppy is and how important she is to you."

"Important?" Branch echoed, continuing to stare in wonder at the pink lass before it dawned on him what Creek had said, "Lied to? Why? What are you saying, Creek?"

"My prince, this story is hard to tell, but I ask that you allow me to tell you everything from the very beginning," Creek begged as Branch regarded him suspiciously, "Finally, you will hear the whole truth and why it is I've been so desperate to get you back to Poppy. This is Poppy, Prince Branch, and she is very, very special to you."

Branch eyebrows rose in question. He had a special lass that he couldn't remember? The prince mumbled under his breath angrily before locking eyes for a moment with the one he now knew was Poppy.

"Do you really know me?" Branch asked as Poppy nodded quickly.

"I have for most of my life," Poppy insisted, scooting a little closer as Branch relaxed a little since he sensed the lady's honesty, "You are very important to me."

"I am?" Branch breathed in wonder before the troll turned to Creek, "Tell me your story and I will try to be silent until the end. Tell me why I've been lied to and why it is that I don't know this lass, but feel…really feel like I should."

Creek rejoiced as he heard this. Branch still felt his connection to Poppy. Good.

"Prince Branch, you were born to the warm climate trolls as you've been told, but you were never raised here in these lands," Creek began as Branch straightened in shock, "You see…I am so ashamed to admit all of this, but I betrayed my tribe twice. Once to save myself from death and the second time to find a new home since I'd destroyed the one I had in Poppy's tribe from my first betrayal. I was desperate to not feel so alone anymore. I sought out your siblings, but they didn't know of you at that point and they turned me away. I just started babbling and happened to mention how much the ice troll coloring matched your own. Your brother and sister assumed that you had to be an ice troll that turned traitor."

"That is ridiculous," Biggie sniffed, "Branch was born to our tribe. I was there and so were you, Creek."

"I know," Creek sighed as everyone listened closely, "I was promised a place in the ice troll tribe if I brought Branch to the king and queen, but I accidently hurt him with the elixir I used to keep him docile."

"Wait, keep me docile?" Branch spoke up as Creek flinched, "You…you kidnapped me? So this makes the second time?"

"Yes," Creek whispered, coloring in shame as Poppy grumbled angrily from beside Branch, "I…I was angry the first time. I thought my anger was because of you, but it was really me that I was angry at. I thought I had ruined my chances with Poppy and then you took her from me, but I was a fool. It was always you, Mate."

"Me?" Branch huffed, crossing his arms in anger, "You are not making sense!"

"Poppy is your soul match," Creek offered as Branch startled and glanced over at Poppy as she nodded at him, "You and she flitted around one another for years because you were meant to be with one another. I saw and always tried to run interference between you two. I denied the truth because I wanted Poppy to love me. I was wrong, my prince."

"Wait, I've never met her until today," Branch snapped before looking unsure, "At least, I think I haven't. I…I'm so confused."

"You do know her and even now feel it still despite your memory loss. You even admitted it a few minutes ago. My prince, you grew up right beside Poppy," Creek spoke as Branch's gaze tore away from Poppy back to the troll, "Your parents were killed when you were a baby and later, you lost the grandmother that you adored and loved so much that her death hit you so very hard. You blamed yourself and went grey when very little. It was Poppy that helped you restore your colors nearly twenty years later. You had locked yourself away from others trying to protect both them and yourself from being hurt further for a very long time."

"You were so brave," Poppy interrupted with a small smile as Branch regarded her silently, "You suffered so long on your own, but you survived and protected our tribe without many knowing. I always knew the truth of what you did for the tribe, but didn't know what had really happened to you until we were both adults."

"What happened to my memories?" Branch asked as Creek sighed softly.

"I took you from Poppy's side nearly a month ago," Creek admitted, "When I kidnapped you I used an elixir that had hazel root within it. You and all ice trolls are badly allergic to the stuff and I made you very ill by accident. I never meant you any real harm. Your siblings happened upon us when I was trying to reach them and discovered a deep secret. You were their baby brother."

"What?!" the whole cave echoed as most trolls stared at Branch after his exclamation, "But…but the twins told me stories of when I was little…told me how precious I was to them. Was their love for me just a...a lie?"

"Not at all, my prince. Your siblings adore you. You came to be because your mother had left to try a plan out that her ice troll husband had concocted," Creek stated as eyes remained on him, "The results were you, Prince Branch. A half breed troll that had ice and hair abilities. A warrior that the royal family wanted to try and create. Ice trolls place a lot of importance on strength and fighting abilities."

"That is truth," Thorn said, nodding once, "Ice trolls marry and breed for strength. Strong offspring are a pride of our tribe. I could see the old king wanting to incorporate hair abilities into the royal bloodline. He was fascinated with the idea of using one's hair as a weapon."

"So…so I was born to be a weapon or experiment?" Branch hissed, looking upset and unsure.

"No. Warm climate trolls cannot be born without love both between the parents and for the baby," Creek denied as Branch regarded him in surprised shock, "You were loved very much by your mother and father or you wouldn't be here now and your siblings adore you too, Prince Branch, so much so that I feel that they've made a terrible error in judgement."

"Tell me," Branch ordered as Creek nodded.

"Queen Crystal and King Frost cleansed you," Creek stated as Thorn gasped loud.

"That is why his eyes are so silver," Thorn breathed, making Branch gape at him, "My prince, you bare the mark of a spell that royal blood can cast on royal blood only."

"Wait, what?" Poppy bit out, standing angrily, "What is this cleansing? What has been done to my Branch?"

"Your?" Branch whispered, staring at Poppy in surprise, "I…my head is spinning."

Creek fretted as Branch placed his head into his hands. Now was not the time to close down.

"Do you remember the necklace that Queen Crystal always wears?" Creek pushed as Branch looked up and nodded, "That stone has the power for your sister to look through your memories and repress the ones that she feels you shouldn't remember. Your brother and sister actually wanted to help you. They mistakenly thought that if they erased the memories of your time among Poppy's tribe, then you wouldn't remember the hurt and pain you experienced as a youth. Out of love, King Frost and Queen Crystal wanted to give you a fresh start so you could be trained as the prince and as an ice troll. The whole palace was ordered to stick to the story of an illness taking your memories and causing the silver in your eyes so that you would be protected from painful memories, but that was wrong. You have lost a lot of what made you who you are, Prince Branch."

"You were always saying that everything would be okay again," Branch mentioned as Poppy looked at Creek thoughtfully, "How so? How were you planning on fixing what sounds like a mess you caused?"

"By my hands, I started all of this assuredly, my prince, but then I tried to get you away from your siblings before you were cleansed first," Creek sighed, looking down as he blushed once again in shame, "I failed, but continued to plan on a way to get you home and back to Poppy. I've been working to try and undo the cleansing."

"So everything you said about us being friends when I was small…that was all a lie?" Branch asked, looking away as he pulled inwards.

"No. We had been friends when you were small despite me being a bit of a bully. We fought, but never really to cause any harm and mostly in fun. We grew apart and then you turned grey and you kept to yourself. However, I doubt you'll want to be my friend when you remember things and realize what a cad I've been," Creek voiced, as sadness filled his face for a moment, "All of your memories are still inside you and I had hoped that Poppy could help me reverse what was done to you. You are still the crowned prince of the ice trolls, but you are also Branch of the warm climate tribe. You need both your halves to be whole. I kidnapped you this time to help you remember who you really are. I wanted to make things right again. The decisions have been taken out of your hands from the moment I took you from Poppy and failed to protect you from your siblings, who truly meant well by what they did, but you need to be able to decide for yourself what you want out of life. Those decisions are yours to make."

Everyone blinked at Creek's words. The troll meant it. No one could deny this fact, but for one…it was all hard to take in.

"I don't know what to believe anymore," Branch whispered, wrapping his arms around his drawn up knees, "If what you say is true, my brother and sister have lied to me repeatedly to convince me that I am something I never felt I really was."

"In hopes of protecting you," Creek soothed, hurrying over to sit before the troll, "King Frost and Queen Crystal actually were trying to shield you from painful memories. They love you, my prince, but so does Poppy and the real Branch would never have left her side by choice. You love her too. Look at her, Mate. What do you see?"

"Pink," Branch snorted as Poppy smiled at him, "Sparkling eyes. Hair like…cotton candy? What is cotton candy?"

"See?" Creek happily pointed out as Branch looked back at him in surprise at the ecstatic tone, "There is no cotton candy in these lands. How did you know that Poppy's hair is like cotton candy if you don't even know what that is? I know you are angry at me and you have every right to be. I will accept whatever punishment Poppy or your siblings want to dole out after everything is said and done, but please, please…please let me help you remember yourself. Help you remember her."

Branch turned to Poppy as Creek pointed at the pink troll while she looked in pleading at him. This strange, beautiful lass with her big eyes. Eyes…eyes that he'd been seeing in dreams since he woke. He remembered his feelings that something wasn't quite right after his waking. He remembered all the times that Creek had hovered close and tried to help. There was earnestness in everything that Creek had done and was saying now.

"Tell me something that you know about me, Lady Poppy," Branch urged as Poppy blinked at him, "Something to prove that everything is the truth because I'm so confused right now and no longer know what I think."

"You have a scar, here." Poppy immediately answered, taking Branch's own hand to feel the scar hidden near the front of his hairline, "You pushed me out of the way of some falling rocks when I was four. I went down a ravine my father had told me not to go into on a dare. You saw me and followed me since you were worried that I'd get hurt. You were six and one of the rocks cut your scalp open. I was so scared, but you were gentle with me despite being grey and not wanting to be near others anymore. Dad was very mad at me when he carried you from the ravine and tried to get you to live with us, but you wouldn't. Sneaked away in the middle of the night, but I always found you. Just like now. I was coming to get my lad."

Branch liked the words. Her lad. Was he really? There was no denying his attraction to the pretty lass. Fine. Didn't hurt to try.

"Tell me what to do, Creek," Branch ordered as the purple troll grinned in relief, "How do I remember my memories?"

"Sit like this," Creek demonstrated, sitting lotus style with a grimace as his hip pulled at him as Branch followed, "Poppy sit right in front of Branch in the same way and you two hold one another's hands. That's it. Good."

"Do you really know what you are doing?" DJ Suki asked as Creek looked up at her, "I don't want you scrambling their minds up."

"Meditation has helped me learn methods to see auras and glimpses into others' minds before," Creek instructed, "I hope that I can reach and remove the blocks within my prince, but I think I need to do so through Poppy. Prince Branch is guarded, but she is open and he opens up to her and her alone. My prince, Poppy, I need you two to close your eyes and lean your foreheads against one another."

"That is…forward," Branch spat, blushing hot as Poppy giggled at him, "What?"

"We've done this before," Poppy grinned out, jerking Branch forward to rest her forehead against his, "We were like this when your eyes were as blue as blueberries and you sang to me on our last date. I've missed you so much, Branch, and I knew that I needed to find you. I knew you needed me. I want you to remember me because it hurts that you can't."

Branch gasped as a tear ran down Poppy's cheek. Her hurting made him angry. Very angry. He quickly released one of her hands to wipe the tear away before turning to glare at Creek.

"Do whatever it is you need to do to unlock my memories," Branch hissed before taking Poppy's hand again as he leaned his forehead against hers once more, "I'm ready."

To be continued…