Chapter Eleven – Searching

On Poppy's seventh day of her stay home, the enchanted castle was all abuzz. The staff worked together to clean the entire castle in preparation for Poppy's return. Biggie planned a wonderful breakfast for the princess when she arrived the next morning. Satin and Chenille made Poppy a variety of new outfits: a welcome-back-to-the-castle gown, a breakfast outfit, a relaxing-in-the-drawing-room muumuu, among other outfits for the entire day. Rosiepuff went all around the castle to help out the staff and check in on their progress.

Rosiepuff came to the drawing room, where she found Hunter sitting at the piano with a book in his lap and tapping the point of a quill against his lip in thought. Rosiepuff grinned at the sight. Of all the residents in the castle, Hunter was the most excited for Poppy's return. The sight amused his grandmother and the staff very much. Only Rosiepuff really noticed the fact that Hunter looked less grey. His happiness was coming back, and so were his true colors. Rosiepuff wouldn't show it, but seeing this thrilled her very much.

"You've been at that piano all day." Rosiepuff spoke up, catching Hunter's attention.

"Hey! Just the troll I wanted to see. I need your opinion on something." Hunter said quickly, not really acknowledging Rosiepuff's comment.

"What are you doing?" Rosiepuff asked as she came to stand beside the piano.

"I wrote a song for Poppy." Hunter said.

Rosiepuff stared at the king. "You wrote a song?"

"Which is why I need your opinion." Hunter could easily guess what Rosiepuff thought about the idea that he wrote a song after all these years. "I've got the chorus down. Listen to this and be honest. Tell me what you think." Hunter set his music up on the piano and started playing. Rosiepuff had to use all her willpower to keep her excitement at bay. She hadn't heard Hunter sing in years, after all.

Hunter looked to his grandmother when he finished. "What do you think? Will she like it?"

"She'll love it!" Rosiepuff assured. "I think she will absolutely love it!"

"Yeah?" Hunter nodded nervously. "It's not done yet. I need to work on the other verses."

"Even if that's all you sing to her, she will absolutely love this song." Rosiepuff said.

"How can you be sure?" Hunter asked.

"Because you wrote it for her." Rosiepuff answered.


Poppy never missed breakfast. So when she didn't come down to join Suki and Peppy that morning, they knew something was wrong. Suki volunteered to go up and check on her sister.

She knocked softly on Poppy's bedroom door. "Poppy? You okay?" She heard something fall over, and she hesitantly pushed the door open to find Poppy tearing her room apart looking for something. "Poppy? What are you doing?"

"My amulet!" Poppy cried desperately. "The one Hunter gave me! It's missing!"

"All right, all right. Just calm down." Suki soothed. "You checked your hair, right?"

"I never leave anything in my hair when I go to sleep." Poppy claimed. "Besides, the amulet takes me back when I wear it while I sleep. So I've been putting it on my nightstand. But when I woke up this morning, it was gone!" Poppy ran her fingers through her hair anxiously. "I have to find it. I'm supposed to go back tonight. Everyone's expecting me at the castle tomorrow morning!"

"Then we'll find the amulet." Suki assured. "After all, that's the only way you're getting out of the kingdom to get to the Grey—er, Hunter. So don't lose your head. Let's think this through. You put the amulet on your nightstand every night?"

"Yes." Poppy bobbed her head. "And it was always right there when I woke up, and I put it in my hair for safekeeping."

"How about we scour the castle?" Suki suggested. "Maybe you dropped it somewhere."

"But I know I left it right there!" Poppy insisted.

"It won't hurt to try." Suki reasoned. "We'll search the castle and go from there."

Poppy slowly nodded. "Thanks, Suki."

Suki still had her reservations about Hunter. That wouldn't stop her from helping Poppy do what made her happy. Working together, the princesses searched the entire castle twice through and still found nothing. Poppy grew more and more erratic by the second, desperate to find the mystic amulet that would take her back to Hunter and the enchanted castle. If she wasn't in there tomorrow, what would Hunter do? Would he dare to come to Peppy's kingdom and find her? If his temper flared again, that could very well happen. Poppy couldn't allow that. No telling how the other trolls would react to seeing the Grey Troll.

"Seriously?!" Poppy moaned as she and Suki finished searching the castle for the third time. "How could I lose it?"

"Poppy, freaking out won't help." Suki huffed. "Maybe you dropped it while taking a walk. Anything could've happened. Why don't we try splitting up? You go search the village, see if someone found the amulet. I'll check the garden." She put a comforting hand on Poppy's arm. "We'll find it. You'll go back to that castle, okay? Just have a little faith."

Words couldn't describe Poppy's appreciation for her sister's efforts. She and Suki split up to resume their searching. Poppy knew she liked to take certain paths through the village, so she decided to go there first. She walked slowly, her eyes glued to the ground for any flashes of gold.

"Ah, Princess Poppy!" Creek stopped in his path and jogged to catch up with her. "Just the troll I wanted to see." Poppy didn't answer, so Creek walked alongside her and continued speaking. "I was hoping we could talk, catch up a bit more. It's been so long since you were home and we haven't seen each other much since you got back. How about a walk? Or a picnic? Anywhere and anything you want to do. I just want to do it together." Poppy still ignored him, and Creek stared at her with unease. "Poppy? What's wrong?"

Poppy finally stood up straight and sighed impatiently. "I've lost an amulet! Gold. Pretty design on the front. It's very important to me and I can't find it anywhere!"

"Easy, love, easy." Creek said gently. "I'm sure it'll turn up. How about I help you find it?"

Poppy blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Of course." Creek said. "You're the one who said 'many hands make light work.' Well, then let's change it to many eyes make light searching."

Poppy smiled for the first time all day. "Thank you, Creek. Really."

"No thanks is needed, Princess." Creek said. "Now let's get looking." He let Poppy lead as they continued down the path. Creek often glanced to Poppy as he scanned the ground for the amulet. Poppy's fitful behavior since her return confused Creek greatly. It was like she was very panicky about something. Something she didn't want anyone to know about. What could be so bad that Poppy would want to hide it? Everyone in the kingdom has talked about where Poppy disappeared to for so long, but nobody knew where she went. Peppy still spun stories of Poppy being kidnapped by the Grey Troll. Nobody believed him, of course.

If Poppy wasn't with the Grey Troll, then where was she for so long?


Hunter could barely sleep that night, he was so eager. He woke up just as the rays of the sun peered over the horizon, leaped out of bed, and pounded on the doors to the bedrooms of his staff.

"Wake up!" he called in a hushed tone. "Wake up! She's back today! She's back today!"

Rosiepuff moaned sleepily as Hunter shook her awake. "She's probably not even awake right now."

"So we have to be ready when she does wake up!" Hunter insisted. He hurried off, laughing like a boy.

Rosiepuff yawned and rubbed her eyes. "In love, he be."

Hunter didn't have to worry about the staff. They quickly got to work preparing the dining room and breakfast for Poppy's awakening. Hunter outfitted himself in the same dress pants, jacket, and cape he wore when he danced with Poppy. He combed out his hair and made sure everything was perfect. Even though he couldn't do anything about his colors, he could make himself look presentable. Smidge and Fuzzbert helped Biggie work in the kitchen to make breakfast while Satin, Chenille, Cooper, and Guy Diamond set the table and made a fire. Rosiepuff checked on everyone's progress as they worked.

"Is it ready?" Hunter asked, bursting into the dining room.

"Just finished!" Biggie set down the final plate of food on the table.

Guy Diamond lit a few more candles. "Good to go!"

"Great!" Hunter smoothed out his jacket. "Grandma, will you go get Poppy?"

"My pleasure." Rosiepuff hurried off to Poppy's room. She couldn't wait to see the look on the princess's face when she saw the layout set up for her. Rosiepuff knocked on the bedroom door. "Hello? Princess Poppy? Are you awake? Breakfast is ready!" Rosiepuff waited for Poppy to answer her. She heard nothing, though, so she tried knocking again. "Poppy? Breakfast is ready. Come and get it before it gets cold." She waited. Rosiepuff's eyebrows furrowed in concern when she didn't hear anything. "Poppy?" Rosiepuff hesitantly pushed open the door. "Poppy?" She looked inside and her eyes widened at the sight. Rosiepuff turned and sprinted back to the dining room.

Hunter leaped to his feet in alarm. "What do you mean she's not there?"

"She's not in her bed. The room looks untouched." Rosiepuff explained. "I don't think she came last night."

"No, no, that can't be right." Hunter murmured. "She was supposed to put on the amulet last night and she would arrive this morning."

"Maybe she just forgot to put it on." Cooper suggested. "Or she decided to travel through the forest."

"She promised she would come back." Satin said.

"So she will come back." Chenille agreed.

"Yeah." Hunter nodded slowly. "Yeah. Okay. Let's just give her a little more time. I'm sure she'll be here soon."

Everyone waited patiently, often glancing to Rosiepuff for indication Poppy arrived. But hours passed, and Poppy still didn't arrive. Hunter tapped his fork against the table apprehensively. If Poppy decided to travel through the forest rather than with the amulet, shouldn't she be here by now? Hunter could understand Poppy's hesitance to use the magical object. She might've feared the amulet wouldn't work. Or maybe the amulet didn't work at all. When Biggie piped up timidly that the food was getting cold, Hunter permitted everyone to eat while they wait. Biggie settled for making food when Poppy arrived. Most of the staff didn't feel very hungry knowing Poppy wasn't there yet. What could be keeping her?

The day dragged on, and everyone's restlessness grew when Poppy still didn't come.

Night fell, and Hunter finally shot to his feet. He had sat at the dining table since breakfast, staring off into space. Now, he sprinted off towards the door.

"Hunter?" Rosiepuff gasped as the grey king dashed past her. "Where are you going?"

"Poppy should've been here by now." Hunter paused at the door. "I think she tried going on foot or by horse and now she's lost in the forest. I have to find her!"

"Then we're coming with you." Cooper said firmly as the rest of the staff gathered around Rosiepuff. "We can cover more ground that way."

"All right." Hunter approved. "Cooper, Smidge, and Fuzzbert, you're with me. The rest of you stay here in case Poppy comes back before we do."

"We will." Rosiepuff assured. "Just go!"

Hunter, Cooper, Smidge, and Fuzzbert quickly made their way into the forest, splitting up to take off into different directions. Cooper spread his wings and the hippogriff took to the skies. Smidge scurried up the trees and Fuzzbert galloped through the forest.

Hunter's feet barely touched the ground while he ran. I'll find her. She has to be out here.


A/N: You can probably guess the song Hunter sings. :D